NOTE: This is dedicated to anyone of us ready to create a healthy life, and world, by stepping into our power. It’s not for everyone. In memory of my dad who left our planet 30 years ago and left me a gift and a mission not to equate our self-worth with what we do for a living.
Life is all about the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell others.
All any one of us ever wants is to be seen for who we are but so many of us have lost pieces of ourselves along the way. And now, we’re each being asked to face ourselves, at our own pace. How we respond and react is personal. There’s no best practice or process to follow when we open ourselves to life.
Life is messy, challenging and beautiful
We’ve been adorning masks for ages; they have just not been physical. We’ve been taught to hide who we truly are as a protection and point of safety; even from ourselves. That’s why we have a plethora people out in the world trying to get our attention and fix us by teaching us what it is to be human — how to be vulnerable; how to find our purpose; how to lead authentically; and so much more. Our world is bursting with people — outside of ourselves — so very ready to instruct us, inspire us, motivate us and teach us. It’s the current reality in a world where we’ve given our power to an expert and learned to celebrate and aspire to be like them; often at our own expense.
We’ve been gifted an array of emotions from joy to sadness and we’ve been taught to mask our feelings and vulnerabilities. For example, many of our boys and men have been instructed not to cry in public as it’s a sign of weakness. And we’ve been also conditioned to be positive and happy; at least when we’re out in the world. So many people have been instructed to consume our anti-depressants in silence.
And the bottom line is that the leaders our world needs right now are mostly unknown. We’re busy creating what is needed most and luckily for us, we’re starting to face ourselves and become aware that there’s no time like this moment to question everything and follow our hearts into creating what’s possible.
Leadership is within us; no need to follow anyone but our hearts
If 2020 showed us anything, it’s that no one knows much of anything. And while theories and philosophies are foundational, we can no longer accept the status quo. It’s killing our very soul, and bodies, in silence.
What we’re experiencing right now is chaotic as it’s a hard pill to swallow to see on a global level that no one knows much of anything. In the last 20 years of my work on this planet, I’ve planted seeds of awareness that we can act ourselves as we’ve been facing a leadership crisis across the globe in every industry and sector. I ask questions like: in a world with over 100 million non-profits, why are so many kids still going to sleep hungry? Why are we focusing on humanity’s biggest problems, and not humanity’s biggest opportunities? When can we start creating a healthy world?
And it’s not all doom and gloom. There are amazing people imagining and creating systems for our times, for our children, for humanity, for our elders and for the land.
The irony is that we’ve created apps to transport us, shelter us, feed us, finance us and so much more. But we have yet to built apps that truly connect us based on what we’re creating in the world so we can easily find each other based on our purpose and calling. I have been waiting for a technologist to show up as I have seen this platform already and know that it’s time for us to come together and build communities and networks that serve the majority of humanity in unity, not conformity.
It’s time to write and co-create healthy stories so I’m calling on those feeling called to create what is needed most right now, which is far from more advertising and wealth creation paradigms. We’ve been told that we must make a living to support ourselves, but what have we yet to imagine that is a healthier way of life? How do we want to raise our children? How do we want our elders to be treated? And, how do we want to truly live?
Most of us are more powerful than we’ve ever imagined.
People will disappoint us for sure. But the question is, are we disappointing ourselves? Do we trust ourselves and live with self-compassion and kindness? How many of us have been too afraid to speak out and step into our own power; too concerned about what other people would think or being “liked” or accepted. There’s no one coming to save us.
Each of us has experienced some sort of trauma that we can either bring with us everywhere we go or slowly face it. No one has been spared and some wear our masks tighter than others. We tend to carry our own, and often our ancestral wounding, with shame and guilt. We also bring the belief that it’s not okay to be who we are. We stay in the wars and conflicts, hanging on to sides to avenge that very hurt. And it takes awareness to start understanding that there’s a path of healing that’s very personal. We can carry our baggage everywhere we go or we can lighten our load by understanding that we came here to create in this playground. It need not be a war zone.
No one has our answers no matter how hard they try to convince us otherwise. Only we can set ourselves free from whatever is holding us down.
There is destruction all around us and it’s one of the most incredible opportunities to take small steps to step into our power by seeing what is no longer valuable or useful in our life — understanding what is healthy and what is toxic when it comes to our beliefs, our bodies and our planet. An eye for an eye simply keeps us blind.
We can no longer stay silent
We’re part of something that is much bigger than ourselves. And we cannot continue to fix the foundation of a broken world. It’s time to tap into our imagination and create healthy systems, structures and models. It’s time to become a leader of our own amazing life.
I am choosing not to stay silent and stepping out of the deep societal programming. There is no reason to suffer and live in constant fear. I am writing books and articles with an unfamiliar vulnerability. My dream is to reach out to anyone who is ready to face yourself in your own way. I will no longer accept what I know is not healthy for me. This is how I break the cycle and move into creating a healthy life and finding the others who want to co-create a more humane world.
We’re being called to evolve in a way that we have never done before. There’s no roadmap to where we’re headed. It’s time to put down our swords, step out of the divides and stop the cycles of our collective tragedy. We all need some relief and to remember how to play outside the lines of perfection, separation and manipulation.
The old world is dying and we don’t need to keep it on life support. We can keep fighting for our lives, or we can create healthier systems and stories that serve us.
Breaking the old patterns allows the healthy cycle to begin with us. The choices we make in our own lives now matter in who we trust and how we act. Being safe maybe comfortable but is too often very risky. Let’s experiment, design and find our courage to create! It’s our time to face ourselves and be the bridge builders, architects and lovers we need.
In memory of Uri Baron who inspires me every day to face myself and the world with curiosity.