In an effort to bring more joy into my day to day I spent last week focusing on (amongst other things) creating a sense of inner calm and peace. I was really surprised by one of the consequences. Until I started to practice not being at war with myself I never really noticed how angry, impatient and totally disturbed most people are. Take an hour and just listen to the people that surround you. It does not matter if you are at home or at work, or somewhere neutral like a supermarket. Even better, take an hour and listen to how you speak to other people….now take the time to notice how you speak to yourself ?
How many of the conversations you hear are about what is not right, what is wrong, how the individual concerned is being done in by someone (it always seems to be a conspiracy) … or how someone else is an ignoramus and should not be allowed oxygen?
As a culture we seem to be rude to people without thought, coming from a place of righteous indignation – a place where it is ok to treat someone in a way that would horrify you if you were at the receiving end. This is a place of no tolerance and even less love, a place where people deliberately waste your time and are deliberately incompetent…. a place that never sees the other person as someone who loves, feels and perhaps hates having to answer a phone to be berated and belittled by yet another annoyed customer.
The more I watched the world around me the harder I found it to maintain a sense of inner calm and peace. Each word became a torrent of ‘violent’ energy that was intent on assimilating me. I found myself becoming as angry and discontent…
Do we really have a right as individuals to do so much judging of other people ? Do we really have a right to expect them to live to our standards ?
Are we really so blind to who we are being that we don’t see ourselves becoming what annoys us in others?
I have to say that I am left with a large dose of disappointment and a feeling of complete futility. As a species humankind seems to be irrevocably lost in unconscious being that fosters hate rather than kindness and acceptance. Yes, I know…that is a judgement in itself. We are all on our paths living what we need to live in order to learn what we need to learn….only somedays … somedays I want to shake people and say wake up, smell the roses, snap out of it! Then on other days I wonder if it is really worth it ? Is it possible to make a difference? What is the point of even opening a door, most people won’t see it and if they do, can’t be bothered to find the energy to change and step through it.
So I think for today I will go back to creating inner peace and calm. I have a feeling the answer is there, inside me…. that it does not matter who you choose to be or what energy you choose to put into the world. It only matters who I choose to be…. so I think today I will smile at random people and tell them how beautiful they look today…and maybe, just maybe… they will let go of some of that anger.
