Every day when I wake up and turn on NPR, I hear another disturbing story. I do not need to tell you. You hear it, too. You feel it. You grieve for the people. The animals. The plants. For the planet. Some days you try denial for a while. I know I do. Many days you compartmentalize. Me, too. Some weeks you wear your emotional support sweater. Every day. You sleep in it. Well, OK, I don’t sleep in my emotional support sweater. But, I’m leaving the option open, just in case.
You may be wondering what you can do. How does a highly sensitive, empathetic, emotional, persnickety, somewhat indecisive, seemingly overthinking book lover manage in this world? Where does a rainforest-minded human who is driven to make a difference even start?
Well. I have some ideas.
I’ll begin with the obvious ones. The ones you are probably already doing.
Voting. Financially supporting important causes. Running for office. Supporting BIPOC businesses, writers, and artists. Getting therapy. Paying it forward. Examining your own biases. Following Van Jones on Instagram. Raising compassionate children. Volunteering your time. Setting healthy boundaries with toxic family members. Living more sustainably. Writing influential articles and books. Being kind. Becoming an activist. Starting a silent book club. Housing a refugee family. Starting a nonprofit. Having conversations with people you disagree with. Educating yourself about the climate crisis and what can be done. Following Glennon Doyle on Instagram. Fighting the urge to feel powerless or hopeless. Stopping the legacy of abuse in your family of origin. Maintaining your capacity for optimism and idealism. Developing your intuition and letting your creativity out of the box. Deepening your spiritual practice. Reviving your sense of humor.
That would be a great start.
And here is what I really want to say. This is what I am going to nag you about for the rest of my days.
Step up NOW to who you truly are. Yes, now. No time to waste. It is no longer appropriate to dilly dally. Procrastination is not an option. These times require all of us who are capable to step up and do the work we are here to do.
Open the doors to your destiny and charge on in!
How do you determine your destiny, you may ask. How do you find your purpose? There are ideas in this post and this one. Some great resources for this are here. It is a project for sure. But what could be more important? Honey, you have a rainforest mind. You were born for this. Your sensitivity, creativity, compassionate heart, intelligence. Your passion for justice and love for planet earth. Now is your time.
And if you are still not convinced, there is this:
“…You have worlds inside you — swirling, colorful, mournful, generous, soaring, hopeful, searing, heartbreaking worlds. You cannot offer just a tiny slice of you. You cannot hold back the flood. You want to share those worlds. You are way too big, too complicated, too glorious and infinitely sad and unspeakably divine. You have to share all of it...” Heather Havrilesky
_________________________________
To my bloggEEs: I know I am obsessed with this topic. (I hope I don’t sound too preachy.) What are you doing to find your purpose and live more of your authentic life? What questions do you have? What resources do you use that help you? These are such challenging times. Sending you so much love and appreciation for your courage.
Leave a Reply