Do you want to save the world?

;)

What a question, eh?

I had a bit of an epiphany about myself yesterday. I'm sharing just for the helluvit, in case it touches something in any of you who may read this, and because it addresses something several of you have said to me as you observe my sharings. I would have posted this in reply somewhere rather than create an OP but couldn't find the appropriate thread to do so. :)

I have a feeling this is very much a Uranus-triggered "aha" moment, even though I don't know what to DO with it -- if there IS anything to be done at this point. But it involves a realization about myself and how I view Humanity in general and my desire to DO...and how very different that may be from others' wishes, dreams and inclinations.

Have you ever evaluated whether you love individual people, in general, or Humanity as a whole? I don't know if it's because of my life experiences, the empath thing, the overwhelming aspect (being a do'er) of trying to help individuals or what, but I definitely connect more with Humanity as a whole than I do individuals.

Of course we love individuals in our lives. I don't mean that. The only analogy that comes to mind right now is, say, take The Beatles, for example. I'm not a huge fan of any of the members; I don't really know anything about them and am not drawn to them as individuals, per se. However, as a whole -- as the entity called The Beatles -- I have great respect and a reverence for what they offer the world.

I feel the same about Humanity. I may not connect with individual members (nor do I necessarily want to), but I have a tremendous reverence for Humanity as a whole.

The next part of this is Morning Glow's comment fairly recently about her sense that I feel I need to save the world. I said, no, I don't feel that; that I don't feel I must save the world, as though I'm something special or pivotal in the scheme of things.

But I realized yesterday that, yes, I absolutely DO feel compelled to work toward saving Humanity as a whole. Not me alone as superwoman or anything, but with others who have the same lifelong driving force to DO something to shift things in a REALLY big way.

Bear with me here, please...

Something has nagged at me in conversations of late. Specifically as it pertains to people asking, "What can we do?" given all the crises and injustices. More often than not, I see the response that people are inclined to focus on their families and local communities.

And I absolutely agree with that and feel that's a very necessary, positive path! Yet, it simultaneously has nagged at me....

Then yesterday I realized what was bothering me and I had my "aha" moment. Granted, this is merely my perception, but what I perceive is people moving toward this approach (local, sustainable communities) in an almost selfish way, not to mention fear-based.

Don't get me wrong, selfish can be good. That's not my point. It's human nature to focus on our immediate loved ones to the best of our ability. It comes down to a survival instinct, and I think that's what is taking hold for many right now, understandably.

What I'm observing (and perceiving) is people choosing this focus on local community to the exclusion of also working to help Humanity as a whole. It is as though many have thrown their collective hands up in the air and are saying, "F*ck the big picture; it's too big, it's too awful...I'm going to focus on what is right in front of me."

Again, what I perceive to be a very defensive, fear-based, resigned approach to things.

AND I GET THAT! I really, really, really GET that, and totally understand why people feel the way they feel. Remember, I've been in survival mode myself for a LONG time. Pleeeease, I hope no one reading feels I'm judging or preaching. If you know me at all, you'll know that I readily admit I don't know anything. ;) Again, I'm sharing my feelings and perceptions only.

Yet I think this different approach to life is where my frustration comes into play. While I absolutely, 100% advocate focusing on local, sustainable communities, I also feel that -- for those of us who so choose -- making use of this incredible gift to reach out and connect and network with millions of people around the world via the Internet is something to indeed be cultivated and developed for a more UNIFIED approach to shifting hearts and recreating the world, as we simultaneously focus on local, sustainable communities. Even with these wonderful tools and resources, getting people unified is such an extraordinary challenge. We see that here at DU so clearly.

But then that brings me back to my first point. I wonder if people who DO enjoy individual people in general...love to meet and mingle and socialize with nearly everyone they meet....are more inclined to focus on the local community, whereas those of us who are more focused on Humanity as a whole (because of our own personality issues) lean toward the "bigger picture" of saving Humanity as a whole?

Especially in this forum where we delve deeper into the "why's" of things, I do feel it's important that we evaluate why we do or don't do things so we can be more mindful of our choices.

If one chooses to focus on local communities only and not so much larger efforts to shift the systems of the world, why do you choose that? Is it based in fear or truly based in love?

And I ask myself the same thing: Is my desire to be part of creating larger-scale change based in fear or love? For me, I think it is both. I love Humanity and all living creatures on Mother Earth. I believe we have unlimited potential to create whatever we choose to create, especially when we join together with focused intent. I think I may have more faith in Humanity as a whole than some, and that may fuel my choices and actions.

I am indeed afraid of what can happen if we don't join together with focused intent.

Some of the newly formed communities can survive and flourish as things change, but what of those people who -- for whatever reason -- haven't been given the opportunity to be part of these communities? (Again, this is where I see Wishadoo and other groups coming into play...to help people connect online and then manifest these new ways in their daily lives.)

The lack of a concerted effort to unify more bothers me tremendously. I do feel I'm on a mission to reach as many people as possible, with the help of others who have the same desire...to help people connect, with the focused intent to create a new world. NOT in order to avoid the apocalypse (though that could be a benefit; I'm just not consciously immersed in doom-and-gloom energy), but simply because most of us want a more compassionate, loving, healthy, whole world.

So, MG and others, you were right. I do have an unyielding desire to save the world, though I have zero desire to do so alone. And there is a touch of "panic" that sets in at times when this clarion call is ignored as I reach out here, there and everywhere (*edit to add including other groups working toward change, as there are so many and the efforts feel so fragmented to me) -- to work toward this bigger vision of connecting with the intent to shift the course of our world. It is sooooo not about this little website called Wishadoo!; it is about something much bigger than that.

*editing to stress this point: I also recognize that the individual efforts we each make within our smaller social circles serve to heal the greater whole. Each act of love, including love for ourselves, can radiate exponentially and, in that sense, we work toward healing the world with each act of kindness, forgiveness, etc.

I know that.

Yet I'm speaking of the more "activist" approach to saving the world by joining together and intentionally keeping the whole of Humanity and Mother Earth in mind by brainstorming things we can do TO get people to connect on a global level to heal.

Some may feel it's arrogant to even THINK we can shift things...the bigger picture. Maybe so, but it's part of the hopeful vision that keeps me going. ;)

And others may feel I think ENTIRELY TOO MUCH and sometimes share the most random stuff that make people roll their eyes or stare at the computer screen with a glazed expression -- and I'm with you on that!!! :rofl:

Thanks for reading.


:grouphug:


*edit included above for clarity

I honestly think that what approach we take all depends upon what we came here to do. It is very clear to me that I'm not here to do the same types of things that you do (and do so well). I'm here to make a difference in individual people's lives. I'm the type of person who will use the types of things that you set up to give however I can to individual people.

I've often used the analogy of the candle for myself. I'm not a lighthouse -- my light doesn't shine far outside of myself. However, when connecting with individual people, my light makes a difference in small but very important ways. So many people feel unloved, unappreciated, unseen... I want them to know that they are loved, appreciated for who they are, and that I do see how unique and special they are. Absolutely nothing makes me happier than to have someone realize that they are amazing just as they are.

The really strange thing to me about this is that I am very introverted, and I absolutely abhor group gatherings. I feel best when I can completely control my environment. Therefore, working over the Internet works wonderfully for me.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that both types of people are needed if the work is going to be done.

As an aside, the way that you feel about humanity is how I feel about animals. I'm not someone who really connects much with individual animals, but I feel so protective of them and work to do whatever I can to change the way humanity views them and treats them. My heart hurts for them when I think how they suffer. :(

I should probably add that I do contribute to causes that help groups of people who are suffering. What feeds me from that though is the thought of how individuals are being helped.

I hope that this makes sense. Please keep doing exactly what you're doing. There are a lot more of my kind of people than your kind, so your efforts are very valuable to the Universe.

:loveya:

(Thanks for joining in...I love to learn more about myself and others, and these "chats" help me so much. :loveya:)


Seriously, I'm an introvert as well, and that's why the Internet works for me also. ;)

The act of reaching out to individuals is most certainly not "less than" in any way at all. I can't stress that strongly enough. We all know this. Those of us here have probably realized for a long while how one act, by one person, can be the tipping point...in a WONDERFUL way. And, even without a tipping point being the goal, each act -- each candle that shines -- is ALL GOOD.

We need this. And I'm so grateful to you and others for joining in these individual acts of love to ease suffering and create more joy.

I also think it is because individual suffering is my weakness. I can't handle it...especially, as you said, the suffering of innocents (animals, children, elderly).

Perhaps my focus on the whole, even if my actions have thus far been focused on individuals, is self-preservation. Suffering breaks my heart, so much so that I eventually retreat.

So working to heal the "bigger picture" is selfish in my own way -- and I'm okay with being selfish, btw. ;)

:hug: :hug: :hug:

that you -- and no doubt others -- may not recognize the "big picture" impact of your kindness and generosity of spirit.

I do recognize it, and I honor you. And I thank you, and others who have joined in, for being part of Wishadoo! It fills my heart.

:loveya:

I hear what you're saying, OGR, but in my view I don't see any difference between acting globally, nationally, locally, or even on a person-to-person basis. Crazy? Seems like it on first glance, but the longer I've lived on this plane, the more I've come to realize that ANY positive energy, ANY light that is shared, in ANY capacity, works toward the whole.

As Dream said above, not everybody is here to do the same job. Your contract may be to act globally, and that's cool. Others' contracts may be to act on a smaller scale, or even not interact at all and just send light out in general (like monks and other cloistered groups who do their "part" in that way), and that's also fine. I don't think people who act locally are giving up on the larger scale because it's "too much"; instead, I think that they have chosen (or have been assigned) to act on that scale, which contributes to the global change. Consider it the "trickle up" effect. ;)

FWIW, I don't think you feel like YOU, individually, have to save the world. But it's clear that you do feel this push to DO something, and that something needs to be global. And that's great! I do feel your urgency, and I think sometimes I pause and wonder why that is--I mean, if you're feeling a deadline or some pressure. I don't--I'm of a mind that we are on the train, and the train will get us there (it's such a certain feeling I can't describe it)--but neither one of us is wrong; it's just our differing assignments, our differing focus. If that makes sense. :hug:

I edited my original OP to stress this point, as I hope it isn't missed in the midst of the rest of my ramble:



Yes, it makes sense, yet I don't think you're typical. ;)

We've talked in this forum many times about the different perceptions and approaches -- the apocalyptic approach versus those who don't feel a coming apocalypse.

I'm with you...I don't feel an apocalypse, per se, nor do I want that on any level.

I also don't think many people will admit to being one who is throwing their hands up in the air and saying "f*ck it." So, I'm not sure why I even asked, other than perhaps to trigger self-reflection.

The sense of urgency may be due to the empath in me; I want to ease suffering as much as possible, and I feel so very much of it out there...all around.

Yes, I think that may be it. I'm not even so sure it's so much about roles or what we're here to do.

I think, for me, much of what I am led to do is based on me being a very, very sensitive empath, and how I choose to deal with it.

:hug:

"I do feel your urgency, and I think sometimes I pause and wonder why that is--I mean, if you're feeling a deadline or some pressure."

At DU specifically, you probably get this sense (which you probably don't at FB, for example), because DU is filled with people posting about the ills of the world, complaining, asking how to change it, what can we DO to change it?!!!

:rofl:

The "vibe" you and others pick up from me here at DU, specifically, is my repeated failed attempts to reply and reach out to those who are crying out, encouraging them to DO something rather than stay in victim mode, and offers ways of doing.

It's not an urgency based on a feeling of a deadline or anything, but rather in response to the outcry here...and all the suffering involved.

:)

Edit to add that it just dawned on me that many of you may not even read elsewhere (which is probably wise) and are not as aware of what is being written on the main forums here at DU, with the cries for help that I speak of. I may be responding to things you guys aren't aware of, and thus you don't know where it's coming from on my end. Sorry 'bout that. ;)

I say it's probably better suited there because 1) that's where most of the outcry is about the suffering, with people asking what can be done (and it's that collective DU vibe that I'm often responding to in my posts and rambles here at ASAH); and 2) here in ASAH most people ARE mindful that every single action can contribute to global healing and are simply more mindful in general as a group.

Again, my question about acting on a larger scale is NOT meant to diminish those led to act more individually or on a "smaller" scale...though there is nothing small about anything we do that works toward healing.

;)

:grouphug:


edit for typo

(So, here's some sharing on my part.)

I feel a similar urge to yours, but I've been describing it to myself as if I think I should function as a scout, out looking for a bigger picture that the local efforts can join up with. In my case, I do feel some of that throwing-up-of-hands that you refer to, both on the part of other people I know and, to tell the truth, sometimes on my own part. I really distrust it, though. Discouragement can be the desired result for folks who want to manipulate, so I think of it as my duty to stay away from discouragement if I can. I respond to some posters in other areas of DU to challenge them if I see all they are doing is broadcasting a kind of all-is-hopeless energy. I think it's contagious, and doesn't help anyone, actually.

I used to be a member of an intentional community, and one of the things that the teacher said was that "people tend to give up just when they are about to succeed." I use that to keep from sinking into discouragement. Yes, I do realize that it's applicable at any time - kind of a tricky thing to say, hmm :-)

But the part of what you're sharing that resonates the most is that feeling that there are big changes that can be made, and that some folks have to focus on that in order for them to come into the world. That's why I've been such a fan of Fuller, because he gave up on his local life (stood on the edge of Lake Michigan here in Chicago with the intention of swimming out to drown himself), but recommitted himself to the big picture and made such a big difference in the world.

(Hoping this isn't too selfy to post)

Silly you. Not even close. :hug:

Well, I'm admittedly too selfy in my sharings here, 'cause I see this group as a huge therapy circle, truth be told. I learn about myself, about others, and about the world in general by talking (and typing) things out, and trying to see different perspectives. Hopefully others do, too. ;)

The quote from your intentional community teacher reminds me of another quote, often attributed to Marianne Williamson (though I seem to recall she was actually quoting another?): "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

I think that's so true, and so very human.

Oooooh, I LOVE the scout role -- that feels very, very good!!!

Yep, you and I have connected in GD threads where the "hopeless" vibe takes hold, trying to counter that with another option, another perspective. I mean, if we all wallow in it and it spreads, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom.

:shrug:

I still need to get that book on Fuller....

:hi:

I, too, feel that we all have different paths. All I really want to do is understand why people can get so much negative energy attached to themselves, and figure out where and what it is, and how to get rid of it. I don't know if that has to do with local or global, but that is my path. Other than that, I really don't go around being a do gooder or anything. I just try not to hurt anyone or be mean or anything like that. I guess you could say that I am more into the psychology than sociology. The deeper questions I ask myself are quite different from the ones you ask. I want to know what makes people act the way they do. What is the emotional basis of psychological and physical health and disease? How can that be improved? What combats, and negates all the crap that gets attached to us? Where does it come from? Well, keep in mind that I kind of obsessed on the myth of Pandora's Box when I was young, and you can see where I am coming from.

Is it practical? I don't know, but I think so. Will it help people? It probably could, but I think I might like this for the intellectual exercise, LOL. Do I want to save the world? I would have to say that this isn't my motivation but if it did that would be fine.

It's just hard to fit my path into your question. Local vs. global.......... I guess if I had to pick, it would be local. Culture is so different everywhere I think that global approaches are sometimes fraught with difficulty.

;)

I hear you. Sometimes the questions in and of themselves don't even resonate in any way because we're all such different personalities, with different paths.

I think what you focus on is very practical -- and necessary. You, and so many others, have skills and knowledge that I can't begin to fathom.

I still think there's a way to pull it all together more effectively for larger-scale healing, but maybe that's not wise or necessary. I don't know. All I know is that I think about it all the time.

Thanks for responding. :hug:

such as electing something other than BushCo.

We need a common hope. Some of it can form through need (equality, boundaries, resources) and its related struggle/empetus.

To the organized go the spoils. The average person is beginning to see the need to organize against the already organized (such as the republicans/international money).

And as always, become the change you want to see in the world. If you can inspire just one other person, you've begun a revolution.

(Also, you worry about things not yet prime; 2011 will see the beginnings of lasting attention to positive principles/organization, so remain steadfast but not frustrated...!)

:hug:

A Common Hope...

Certain words and phrases really speak to me. This is one such phrase.

I love that.

:hug:

and the same inner call to join the forces. The maddening part is know what force to join. I've been scanning the internet for all the possibilities and am left feeling frustrated because I care about all of it, but can't figure out where I really belong. It's been so maddening because until I find my way to serve this world, my restlessness keeps on increasing.

Whenever people ask me what I want out of life, I always answer (with a straight face), "I want world peace." And I do. Not only do I want the wars to stop, but all the wars within communities, within households, and within individual people. I do have a favorite Beatle, John Lennon. His life was pointed in the direction we all need to keep following. Imagine a world of peace, of freedom, to love all beings and all things and be loved in return. While I'm waiting for that "ah ha moment" about where I'm ultimately suppose to be, I work on creating that peace on the only thing I can control - myself. It can only start there and once we stay focused on maintaining that peace, it really starts to expand, to the household, the community, the nation, the world, and maybe even beyond. I know I can't change the world by myself and luckily there's a lot of others who want the same thing, even those that don't even know it consciously.

I recently went to a wonderful channeling where they were talking about the new energies coming in and how to handle them in the current shift. They were talking about radiating unconditional love outwards constantly, eliminating the need for protective barriers because all your energy is flowing out constantly, not allowing others' energies to adversely affect you. I felt so empowered with this knowledge because I'm very, very sensitive and react to how people treat me. Keep the love going outward which will replenish itself and protecting yourself at the very same time. We are expected to have much stronger energies coming in this winter solace, and I'm so excited to know how to use these energies. Normally, they just knock me flat on my face.

I agree with Dream also. We are all on different paths, yet we can all connect sometime at our different levels with those candles shining so brightly. Actually, you and Dream have candles like look more like blow torches. Many others in this group have 'em too.

OGR, you are meant to do something big and the Universe will help you when the time is right. Until that happens, I hope you can take a deep breath and feel your inner peace. It's so damn beautiful. :loveya:

Thanks for sharing that. I hope you find a path that calls to you soon, since you are indeed seeking it. I've collected information on so many amazing organizations; I'll see what I have that may be in alignment with what you're seeking and pass along, in case you haven't heard of them. :hug:

That's so funny you mention that about radiating versus protecting. I've always believed that as well. While I respect what works for others, shielding and barriers have always felt "off" for me; as though I'm operating out of fear. Instead, I try to focus on radiating outward, for the reason you give. I've forgotten that recently with one specific challenge and need to remember to incorporate that ESPECIALLY in that instance, since I have a hard time with that particular energy.

Thanks for the reminder. Each of us is a rather incredible candle in our own way.

I love candles.

:loveya:

I would love to receive more information! I know my purpose is out there somewhere and until I find it, I won't be able to completely settle down. Sure would be great if we could work together at some point. :hug: