Turning Tragedy Into Hope And Healing
Published on 20 Jun 2010 at 9:54 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Feature Articles, Personal Development Strategies, Spirituality & Inspiration.
“It’s one thing to do nothing because you don’t know about something, it’s another to find out about something and do nothing” – Lorraine Cohen
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Albert Einstein, or Benjamin Franklin
Last week one of my dearest friends, Dr. Lori Leyden sent me an email with a link to a ten-minute video she invited me to watch. This morning I made time to be fully present and view the video. It was an emotionally humbling experience for me.
I met Lori a few years ago through a mutual friend and her warmth and loving heart immediately drew me in to want to be closer friends with her. As I have come to learn more about her, I discovered that her passions and current life path have called her to do some pretty amazing work on the planet. Last September, she made her third trip to Rwanda to work with genocide survivors.
As a result of her trauma healing work with orphan genocide survivors in Rwanda, Lori formed Create Global Healing, committed to developing heart-centered healing & leadership programs for traumatized youth, US students and humanitarians. To make a donation to Global Healing, click here (I did!)
Take a look at her video (I couldn’t post it here because the html margins were too wide)
As I watched her video I was reminded of the capacity of the human heart to rebound when love and compassion are present. If the people in Rwanda can forgive and heal the atrocities they faced, our hearts can be strengthened in hope and faith that no matter what happens in our life. We can rise above our circumstances and create a future of our own design.
My dear friend Anita says, “We cannot heal absent of love and during any period of crisis and change, faith, prayers, and a strong circle of spiritual support are essential in navigating any challenge”. So true
Anger, hatred, greed, fear, resentment …stifles our loving heart and spirit especially when we become aligned with be-ing those qualities as our normal way of showing up in the world.
I have written that we are living in incredible times of upheaval and change. We are on the threshold of a world age coming to an end and a new one beginning. There is no longer a norm to compare. Forget business as usual. We are in uncharted territory and we do have a GPS – our spiritual nature; our Divinity within that connects us with all of LIFE and Creation.
When we hear and follow our inner nudges, the whispers of our heart, the yearnings to return to our Essence, the “who we really are” which is the embodiment of love and compassion, we can transform ourselves and the world.
In truth, we are all connected in collective consciousness as ONE. The choices you make today and the actions you take creates not only your own future, it also affects the world and future generations to come.
Several says ago President Obama spoke about the Gulf oil crisis and the changes he believes need to be made to bring accountability and long-lasting change here in the US. The clean up process has already deeply affected wildlife and industry as well as the economy.
I recall a movie I saw years ago called, “Network” when people began rebelling against the status quo and began yelling out of their windows, “I’ve had enough and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
We can no longer sit on the sidelines and stay silent spectators believing that we are powerless to effect change or that it is none of our business. We are part of the whole world, not just the town and country we live. We are all creating the world we see.
What we are witnessing in the world that brings out the worst of our humanity is an invitation for the best of our humanity to be revealed and show up. Love is the only real antidote to pain. And sometimes things must fall apart to create the space for something greater that is more aligned with our Essential Self to manifest. Sometimes we must be shocked, horrified, or scared into waking up from our sleepwalking existence so that we begin living the life we were born to and become actively involved in designing a new future that embodies the best of our humanity with a social conscience and community spirit.
“There is one thing stronger than all the armies of the world and that is an idea whose time has come.” - Voltaire
We can view the world with fear, worry, despair… or we can step into wonder, curiosity, love, compassion, forgiveness…. and invite the best of who we are to emerge in unity; to begin to create a unified one-world community of love, prosperity, and peace.It begins with one person at a time, one step at a time. When we stand unified for a common good, we create magic!
Would you like to live in a world like that?
Do you wonder if it’s possible?
It is.
It is within your grasp
The world is changing and you are a key player in designing a new world. Your deliberate loving thoughts, your feelings, and your actions can transform the world. You must summon the guts to challenge the behaviors, systems, and structures you have both consciously and unconsciously allowed to continue that are not positively serving yourself or the world. You must have the chops to say YES to live the life you were born to. You must decide to shift from crisis-driven, fear-based reactions to inspired self-initiated actions.
Two of my favorite quotes are by Ghandi:
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”.
Some ways to begin:
- Recognize the opportunities to be of loving service to others. As you give you also receive at the same time because we are all connected as ONE.
- Be unwilling to turn a blind eye when you know you can be of help to another.
- Surrender to what you cannot change and embrace the moment as you create a new future.
- Give generously when you feel called, inspired, and nudged to do so.
- S-t-r-e-t-c-h out of your comfort to step into a grander version of who you are meant to be
- Lead with your heart and your passion. Look at life through the eyes of love and compassion. What would love see, say and do?
- Go the distance even when you feel afraid and trust your SELF to guide you safely forward.
The time is NOW.
Let’s make some miracles together!
Have a great day 
Blessings,
Lorraine
www.isayyesnow.com
www.powerfull-living.biz
Christopher Foster on 28 Jun 2010 at 3:33 pm: 1
Hi Lorraine. It was a pleasure to find your blog during a spell of web surfing looking for people/bloggers of like mind and spirit…
I just want you to know I am with you in your determination to stand up and be counted in these hairy times.
lorraine on 29 Jun 2010 at 8:13 am: 2
Yea Christopher
I’m glad you found me too.We have to stand united to shift the energies in our lives and in the world! BTW - I’m hosting a mega -event with some of the most influential and inspiration teachers on the planet July 27- August 12 and it’s free. Want to know more?