What Will We Say to Our Grandchildren 10,  20 Years Down The Road?

One day, when my grandchildren are older, they may ask me a serious question that I pray I’ll be able to answer with my head held high:

“Gramma, in the midst of the 2020 pandemic, and the state of humanity and the planet as a whole, what did you do? In what ways did you work toward healing the people and working toward a healthy, happy, and sustainable planet?”

Alright, they may not ask me in those exact words, but you get the idea.

History has a way of repeating itself, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that the more conscious we are as humans, the less chance there is that history has to repeat itself in horrific ways.

Heads Stuck In The Sand

But the level of consciousness on the planet hasn’t always been on par. It’s something that’s taken time to grow and develop. However, there are always heads stuck in the sand.

For example, there were many people who looked away when the Nazi’s were beating the Jews in public. When they were being murdered. Heads in the sand, perhaps afraid for their own lives, or believing that they could not make a difference. It’s hard for some of us to fathom.

Maybe we aren’t dealing with the same thing today (although war is still occurring in many countries), but there’s still a good many heads stuck in the sand – some consciously turning away and others unconsciously.

I know this because this was me for some time. Purposely isolating, more focused on myself, my life, my wounds, and my future. I turned my attention away from humanity at large… ecological issues, such as deforestation, the oceans becoming a dump for massive amounts of garbage and plastic, species going extinct due to greed and consumption, climate problems, poverty, famine, etc. 

Essentially, a world being ravaged by masses of humanity that consume with an insatiable hunger.

But over the past year or so, time spent alone began a deeper journey within for me, integrating shadows and aligning more with what I call Divine Intelligence. I dedicated myself to meditation, contemplation, and prayer. I was honest in admitting that I didn’t have that much concern for the world as a whole – that interacting with humans was too anxiety provoking for me. As an empath and introvert, how could I get out there and not freak out?

But when it’s time, it’s time.

And, it’s time for all of us to pull our heads out from under the sand and find our place in our communities – and our world.  If we’re all connected, all from the same Source, (and the current pandemic is reinforcing this truth greatly), then let’s indeed connect at the heart level and proceed with a vision for a new kind of world.

A world marked with peace, joy, freedom, love, and compassion.

What will we tell our grandchildren when they’re older?  That we succumbed to fear? To defeat? To mindlessly toiling day to day in a society that applauds competition and consumption? That we hunkered in for a couple months while the pandemic made its course, and then went back to life as normal? The highlights of our days binge watching the latest on Netflix? Or making the yard look nice and tidy?

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy landscaping and gardening. It’s therapeutic. I also love a good television show and I love being at home vegging out. In fact, home is my favorite place to be – always has been.

But there’s something in me, and I believe in all of us, that desires to really become engaged with something greater. Part of a collective consciousness marked by authentic connection and community.

Are we taking this opportunity right now to step away from a “me-centered” worldview into a “we-centered” worldview?  A “my community/my country” worldview to a “global” worldview?

And if so, will we stick with it even when the pandemic is over?

Are we checking in to see just how we have contributed to the greed, consumption, and/or corruption of our civilization?

If so, in what ways?

I have always believed that we should be able to live in a world where we all are cared for. Where we all have access to the basics. A global system that empowers people in a life-honoring way. Where corruption is taken down by the people, because we can’t really count on the government to do this. It’s almost maddening to wonder what the TRUTH is anymore.

 

There’s Hope In The Dark

I’m an optimist. I believe there’s a much larger picture to look at. To draw from. A picture that shows all of humanity working together for its highest good. No labels, no religions, no me vs. you vs. them. That’s the old way.

The old paradigm.

Rather, us. All of us in this world together with a desire to experience the kind of life where we all have opportunity for a good life marked with safe shelter, enough food, dignity, access to adequate healthcare, community, love, peace, compassion, etc.

I don’t know about you, but I know my life has been reshaped the last few weeks. I know so many are in a state of fear, in fight and flight mode, not sure what the future holds.

Will there be a recession? Will my loved ones be alright? How will our economy move forward?

My hope?

That we see a big difference in political and societal norms.

In a perfect world, this pandemic would have launched effective systems in terms of leadership. But many of our societal and political systems are faulty. I mean, how many of us really feel like our government is looking out for us? Has effective systems in place in times of crisis?

In a world where there’s crazy inequality economically, a planet in ecological mayhem, and corrupt politicians…where do we turn?

I don’t have all the answers, but I’m committed to sitting with the tough questions and answering the call to go within to seek answers for my role in helping reshape humanity’s future.

 

A New Humanity Story

Our world has been built by stories, individually and collectively. And, just as I can reshape my own world by reshaping and telling new stories, so can we collectively

I believe we can transform our world, community by community, restructuring the faulty and corrupt dominant structures that have been in place. 

But it takes a village, ya’ll.

We can all work toward a better, more stable world. It’s been happening in pockets all over the world for eons and now can occur in greater measures.  This pandemic can be a turning point in history, depending how we all react to the crisis.

Practically, we can all stop the craziness of mass consumption for a feel good. Notice how you can live without all those things you used to do or buy? That you thought you needed? Notice how important it is to really have an emergency monetary fund? Can you see how easy paralyzing fear can creep in, even when you’ve been practicing prayer and meditation?  Notice how selfishness rises to the surface for so many drowning in a scarcity mentality?

So, what will I tell my grandchildren one day?    

I envision telling them about the world before the pandemic and then how humanity took some time at home to pause and reflect on life.  In particular, they reflected on their lives and perhaps how out of balance they were.

I’ll tell them I witnessed some people radically change at the heart level. Become more mindful, generous, and grateful.

I’ll tell them I took some time to really do some soul searching myself and took crash courses in the new sciences and spirituality. How I spent more time in meditation and prayer, and began connecting more with family, friends, and communities involved in propelling positive, conscious change in the world.

I’ll tell them of instances where the good people took out some of the major corruption going on in the world.

I’ll tell them how we planted a garden and vowed to shop locally as much as possible – because we grew slack in that area. I’ll tell them the story of a new humanity – the birthing of a civilization where consciousness spread like wildfire across the globe.

I’ll tell them how beautiful it was to witness.

I’ll tell them about the grief and pain that we all felt for those who lost their lives and suffered trauma because of the pandemic. For their loved ones too.

And how we all vowed to recycle that pain into purpose for the greater good.

I’ll tell them of the heroes that worked the front lines. How social distancing made us all closer as communities. How our values changed. How more people opened up to a cosmic worldview rather than an egocentric worldview.

How altruism and compassion flourished.

And how we entered into a new age of conscious living marked with much more peace, love, shared values, ecological preservation, inclusiveness, and a much clearer sense that we are indeed all one, connected by a divine intelligence that’s as close as our breath – if we’ll only slow down, breathe, and go within.

I’m sure there will be more that I’ll share with my grandchildren. I’m curious to see how it all unfolds between now and then.

What will you share with yours? (Or someone else’s if you won’t have any)