“It’s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean.” ~Tony Robbins 

The intertwined crises of a worldwide pandemic and racial injustice have shined bright spotlights on long-simmering problems. As a collective, no life is disposable. No human is inherently superior to any other. Today is one of those moments in history when the impossible turns into the inevitable.

The fact that we are awakening and becoming aware of the many injustices in our world is good because only with awareness is change possible.  And there is nothing wrong with being disturbed by these things, but instead of getting fixated on them let us use our awareness to motivate us to create a clear vision of the world as we would like it to be.  Let us use our understanding of what has happened in the PAST to help us formulate our vision of the FUTURE — and then let us focus on that with all our hearts and minds.

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change”

Michael Jackson, Man In The Mirror, song

Some people get so fixated on these unsettling revelations, so obsessively focused on them, that get themselves stuck in a state that is very counter-productive. Holding on to fear, resentment, and condemnation is an energy that does not serve the highest good for yourself or anyone else. Also, the very focus on the problem and the resistance against it potentially sustains the problem and takes focus and energy away from creating what you/we want — a better world. This is why it is essential that we move beyond our shock and fixation on these disturbing truths and start envisioning the better world that we all know can exist.

Instead, Let us envision a wonderful future and think about it, talk about it, and do whatever we can to contribute to building it. Do anything, however small.  It might only be sharing your vision with others, or it might be donating money or volunteering time to your favorite humanitarian or progressive projects and organizations. Learn about, share information about, and get involved in the new paradigms of the future.

“The time is always right to do what is right.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

A future with measures that would benefit all of us—for example for people of color—including: increasing the minimum wage, expanding Social Security, and enacting an improved Medicare for All. Increased economic justice and security also mean ensuring that we have clean water to drink and air to breathe, as well as safe food to eat.

And to those that have played this domination game so deftly I say “thank you.”  Thank you for teaching us a great lesson that we will never forget.  An invaluable lesson about trusting ourselves, about being discerning, and about not giving away our power. And perhaps the greatest gift that this experience has provided us is the complete clarity that we now have about what we want to be, and the kind of world we want to live in and intend to create.

But now your game is over, and it is time to play a new game — the equality game.  This game is far more challenging and rewarding than your domination game, and its goal is not to create wealth and power for a few but to create abundance, prosperity, and happiness for all. It calls for commitment to accept what is perceived and to choose the right action and not reaction to neutralize and bring peace and harmony to our world. 

This is our time, now is our chance.