cracked

In the past month or so, I have seen and experienced all sorts of craziness. This is happening in my neighborhood, in our city, in our country, and across the globe. Friendships falling apart over misunderstandings, people sending hate messages to co-workers and acquaintances, friends shooting each other (example: Cheney in Texas), churches being burned, ridiculous fights on internet boards, strangers being absolutely horrible to each other, weird illnesses and injuries, and mosques being bombed.

I was trying to console a neighbor yesterday, after she had found herself the victim of a personal attack (that had unfortunately been publicized). I wondered if there might be something going on astrologically to explain this eruption of tempers at home and across the globe, or if the American and even worldwide psyche is finally beginning to crack after a half-decade living in manufactured paranoia and under elevated threat levels. There's only so much the human soul can take.

Unfortunately, people are lashing out at each other, indiscriminately and unconsciously—but when a pot boils over, it does pretty much go all over the place. It seems the entire world is seriously on-edge.

Although I've admittedly been thinking of selling everything I own and going to live in a small RV—with four animals (obviously, some of my ideas are better than others)—I've also been praying that as a species, we might be able to forgive ourselves and each other. That we might be able to acknowledge the roles that we've each been playing in this madness, and choose being happy over being right. That we might stop all of the gossiping and finger-pointing, and speak to each other truthfully, with love and compassion. That we might honestly believe—and so manifest—that there is truly enough money, enough love, enough light, enough food, enough medicine, enough recognition, enough of everything for everyone, right now and always.

I'm hoping that as more people begin to recognize this current global trend toward vented frustration, that we'll also begin to rein it in a bit better. Sure, this energy has to go someplace, but there are many more constructive uses for it. We're all feeling very personally uncertain and vulnerable—and have been for years—but not a single one of us is alone in these feelings. In other words, it's not personal.

Maybe when we feel ourselves getting worked up in reaction to something seemingly inconsequential—that wouldn't normally bother us at all—we can instead harness that energy and direct it toward eradicating the true source of the problem.

Perhaps the best I can do now is to work even harder at being the best person I know how to be, and to endeavor to bring myself more fully into balance—to help keep myself from getting yanked around in all of this turbulence. I am spending more time in meditation and prayer. I figure the simplest and possibly most effective thing I can do is to keep up earnest efforts to be the most loving, most compassionate, most discerning person I can be—being more mindful of my thoughts, words, and actions, practicing true kindness, and trying to be more fully present in every moment.

And I keep sending out lots of love.

Of course, I'm also a human being—a heavily flawed one—so I'm easily distracted from simplicity and centeredness. I am open to suggestions of how to bring calm and healing to the current global morass. I am looking forward to the insights of others.