“Maybe you are being taken advantage of, maybe the activity you are engaged in is tedious, maybe someone close to you is dishonest, irritating, or unconscious, but all this is irrelevant. Whether your thoughts and emotions about this situation are justified or not makes no difference. The fact is that you are resisting what is. You are making the present moment into an enemy. You are creating unhappiness, conflict between the inner and the outer. Your unhappiness is polluting not only your own inner being and those around you but also the collective human psyche of which you are an inseparable part. The pollution of the planet is only an outward reflection of an inner psychic pollution: millions of unconscious individuals not taking responsibility for their inner space.”
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 77)
Beyond the Quote (82/365)
It’s easy to point fingers, to yell at a screen, to identify all of the faults in other people’s decisions and actions—it’s hard to take responsibility and make positive decisions yourself. What’s makes this harder is that you might even be right. The mess of the world might very well be the fault of another—or the fault of many others. But as Tolle points out, whether your thoughts and emotions about a given situation are justified or not makes no difference.
What matters is that you are able to deal with those thoughts and emotions in a way that allows you to come out with more understanding, resolve, strength, and love. What matters is that you are able to eliminate, or rather, let go of any inner conflict so that you can simply be—be at your best by being best connected to the present moment. Once you are free of toxic and unnecessary thoughts, then you will be most ready to become a part of the solution—not add to the mess that already is.
Now is the time to reflect on our worlds. Are we caring for ourselves? Are we accepting responsibility for what we are responsible for? Are we caring for those in our immediate circles before trying to care for those far, far away? Are we doing our part to help our communities or are we busy yelling at everyone else who we think isn’t doing their part? Before we seek to change the entire world—let’s start by changing our worlds. Before we seek to clean up the mess of billions—let’s start by cleaning up the mess of one. Only after we can handle the mess of one should we ever try to expand our load and clean the mess of two. One at a time—that’s how we change our worlds. And when enough of us change our worlds, maybe—just maybe—we can change the likes of the world.
So, go ahead and take inventory. Is your house in perfect order? Are your thoughts well connected to the present moment or are you wandering constantly to past and future? Are your neighbors being well cared for and supported or have you not even reached out? This is not to point out your faults or to place more responsibility on your shoulders. This is simply to reconnect you to the present moment so that you can positively impact the elements that are within your control.
Tidy up your room. Organize your belongings. Go above and beyond for your family members. Send thoughtful texts to those who might be hurting the most. Support your local small businesses who might be struggling. And most importantly, take care of yourself and make sure your inner workings are in order. Nothing in the world will get better when your inner space is polluted. Take a deep breath. Take a look around. Start where you are. Do what you can. Stay where you are (mentally). Focus on this task. Let’s get through this together.
Don't Let the Motivation Stop There...!
Join our newsletter and get the BEST of what we post every week. Here's an example. Like? Sign up.
[amp-optin id=42297]