Diana Rankin

As hard as we try, we may not be able to put reason to what Putin is doing to Ukraine and her people. As we watch/read/listen to the news, our minds cannot comprehend that which cannot be comprehended.

We may not have the consciousness to understand, but we do have a responsibility to help. But how do we help?

We begin by looking within, by becoming aware of our emotions and thoughts, of our actions and reactions, of that which we conceive happening to us rather than from us. We become aware of our lives and how we contribute to either peace or war.

Every thought we have, every deed and action we take, contributes to either peace or violence. The hatred, anger, and anguish that causes one human being to take the life of another comes from that place of fear within each of us. Every time I am angry; every time I blame another; every time I lash out; every time I see another as less than me; every time I fret over what I don’t have rather than being grateful for what I do have; every time I dismiss another out of my hurt, every time I feel jealously or resentment, every time I feel inferior or dismissed…or, or, or…every time I act or react out of fear rather than from a place of love, I am contributing to the impressionable young person who builds a bomb or picks up a gun to destroy lives, or to a dictator who invades another country.

Every time I watch a movie and cheer for the violent triumph of the “good guys” over the “bad guys,” I am contributing to the mind of a person who picks up a gun and takes the life of another or orders bombs to be dropped. Every time I let go of reasonable and respectful discussion and settle an argument by yelling, I am contributing to the mind of a murderer.  Every time I am disrespectful to another, I am contributing to the mind of the one who commits evil acts in the name of a god or country.

Every thought we have, every deed we do, every action we take has energy that contributes to the consciousness of all. Once a word is spoken, a deed done, an action taken, that energy vibrates throughout eternity. Forever. Energy attracts like energy. It builds, and as it does, it grows in power.

Love is always – always – more powerful than fear. Always. But it must be fed. In our world of surround sound and giant screens and constant input from social media, we have the opportunity to feed the love like never before. We have the opportunity – and the responsibility to fill our screens and walls – and our minds – with love, powerful love of thought and action.

Our challenge in today’s world is to not give in to fear, but instead day-by-day, breath-by-breath, thought-by-thought, person-by-person, exchange our fears for love. We catch ourselves when our frustration builds at another and instead of angry words, we bless the other with a smile, which blesses us as well. We listen to our thoughts of bias against a group and turn our thoughts into ones of tolerance, acceptance, and respect for those different from us. We let go our thoughts of not being good enough and instead practice kindness and generosity toward ourselves, which in turn teaches us compassion for all.

We turn away from fear and embrace love day-by-day, breath-by-breath, thought-by-thought, deed-by-deed, person-by-person. It is in this way the consciousness of love grows greater than that of fear and we create a world of generosity, kindness, respect, and compassion – a world of love where the story is not one of evil and good fighting each other, but a story of love dancing with itself in the excitement and creation of life lived in abounded joy.