Don't Go Back to Sleep 2.0

The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep!
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep!
People are going back and forth 
across the doorsill where the two worlds touch,
The door is round and open
Don't go back to sleep!

― Rumi

I trust that I speak for many of us when I say that the events of this year, indeed the past several years, have awakened us to many things to which we were previously asleep. I know there are many things I am more conscious of now than before.

Much that was hidden in the darkness has been brought to light. Now, we can see it. Mourn it. Feel angry about it. Even rage about it. Yes! It is vitally important for us to experience our human emotions in response to the words and actions that disenfranchise others, hurt people, and do harm to our land, water and air.

We have witnessed and some of us have participated in demonstrations, riots, and protests in response to the years, decades and centuries of injustice, inequality, greed, avarice, self-centeredness and gluttony that have plagued our society and contributed to the divisiveness we witness today.

The outcome of the Presidential election has provided us with more evidence of how divided we are as a nation in our approach to public policy and strategies for living the values that we all claim to share. I knew that we were not all in agreement about many things, but the tightness of race was yet another wake-up call for me.

Now that we have been awakened, it is vitally important that we do not allow ourselves to go back to sleep. It is especially tempting for those of who benefit from the current policies and practices to slip back into our comfortable beds, pull up the covers and snooze. We cannot do that. Humanity, indeed all of creation, depends upon each of us staying awake and doing our part to heal the wounds and mend the divide.

It will take each of us doing our own personal work of honest self-reflection to see and own the ways in which we have contributed and continue to contribute to the wounding of our fellow humans, our planet, environment, and the creatures of the Earth. I encourage us to embrace the willingness and courage to sit in our own pain and discomfort, as well as sit with the pain of others in empathy and compassion. Seek solutions that will bring healing. Take the personal actions needed to support healing. Do all that we can to influence those who enact and enforce guidelines, rules, laws and regulations to place the love of humanity at the core of all public policies.

Our teacher and wayshower was very clear when he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Knowing that Jesus taught from a consciousness of non-duality, I believe he was instructing us to love each other not just as we would love ourselves, but as though the “other” is our self.

What we do to one, we do to all. What we do for one, we do for all. Let us come together to work for the healing of the wounds of humanity and all creation. We will all benefit. We are creating our future by the choices we make today. The choice is yours. The choice is mine. I pray we choose wisely. Don’t go back to sleep!