Again the world seems to be in a tumult. If you don’t watch the news, read the papers or check in on social media you will still hear through the grapevine that a lot is happening. Here is my second post in less than a few weeks that is inspired by the whirlwind of change around us.

Again the change comes from a combination of mother nature raising her ire or the depleted souls of various populations reclaiming independence, rights and voices long ago silenced.

The cataclysmic nature of these events sends shockwaves around the world. If you have even the slightest smallest sense of empathy you will eventually feel something. Feeling something can send us into all sorts of directions. Some of us run away in denial, others jump in and rescue, and many, well most of us sit in complete bewilderment lost at the idea of what we can do.

Sending a message

So here’s where I want to send out a message. You can do something. You are able to do so much if you want. You who are not currently in the crisis actually have both freedom and means to do something. It is also entirely up to you what the something might be.

Can you see? I am talking about action. I am talking about getting off the tail end of your spine and following through on all the talk.

The question is not just about what can you do but also what do you want to do? To create a sustainable level of contribution it is important that you self-motivate, maintain energy and stay the distance. To do so involves looking after your self of course. I talked about that in the last post where I mentioned the importance of balance.

It’s about contribution

Beyond taking care of you and having balance though is the matter of how you contribute. Now contribute to what? Well there are many other disasters, crisis, issues and other important matters in the world that may not make front-page news everyday. These situations warrant just as much attention, if not even more, for they are possibly the sleeping time bombs waiting to get us when we don’t suspect.

Likewise after the initial shock and urgency of a crisis dissipates the aftermath requires long term commitment and support to rebuild, restore life and ways of living.

Knowing what to do requires knowing you, your capability and capacity at each given moment in time.

Conscious awareness is key

The starting point is conscious awareness. When you decide to learn and become informed you start to know more. You raise your consciousness. When the learning comes from experience you raise your consciousness even more. The powerful outcome of a raised consciousness is that there will now be a disconnect between the way you currently live and act and the way your conscious awareness tells you is better, more improved and evolved.

I am not going to say what the evolved state looks like. Why? Because I do not want to enter into debates about choices. I believe we are all on journeys and at different stages. So for example if I make a choice in my life to switch to a new way of living it is not in my right to now suddenly make you bad for not doing what I do. However many of us can get into this state. We forget that we were where the other is just before.

The awareness of our changing state, choices and actions then connects me back to my original discussion. When you know that there is a different, better for all, more effective way of doing something what do you do? Do you pretend you don’t know? Do you acknowledge then turn a blind eye? Or do you entertain the idea, embrace it and then begin to adapt and adopt?

Your decision to take action within your own life enables you to contribute. You may not be directly helping with a major crisis that is 10,000 miles away from you. Instead you are creating positive change in your own back yard, right now, in this minute. You are able to have an effect, a true, on the ground, real time, immediate impact, if you so choose.

A ten step awareness practice

So how do you practically assess and manage this situation? First I always acknowledge that you can only answer questions like the following from where you are at right now. Tomorrow you may acquire new information, experience different events, change perspective. So I suggest regularly asking your self the questions, not just once.

Another factor is to have an overarching theme, mission, vision or whatever you want to call it as a filter guidepost. The filter is more to help you focus as you open up to the breadth. This is a conversation for a separate post.

So back to the action side of things. If you were sitting with me I might start with some questions like:

First check in and assess where there is the most disconnect in your life between what you do and how your conscious awareness now tells you to live.

Second, knowing that you have this disconnect what one thing do you want to do to close the gap?

Third, in wanting to close this gap how well equipped, skilled, capable, ready, willing etc are you to actually do so?

Fourth, taking into consideration your current capability AND capacity what are you prepared to do now, this moment to start closing the gap?

Fifth, how can you ensure that you are able to sustain this new activity and build it into your life so that it begins to shift you closer to the higher level of consciousness?

Sixth, knowing that you are human what will you do if you slip, reduce or lower in capacity or capability?

Seventh, knowing that you are human with lots of untapped potential and possibility, how will you incorporate this new capacity or capability into your life?

Eighth, imagining that you are now in the place where you closed the gap, what does it look and feel like to be there?

Ninth, what does your action do to inspire, set the example and lead others who may also be ‘on the fence’?

Tenth, when all is said and done can you put your hand on your heart and say “I am doing the best that I can within the world that I live with the means at my disposal, to make a positive contribution to this world, no matter how small or large the scale?”

© Jenn ShallveyNow of course I wouldn’t expect you to answer all these questions at once. What I would expect though is that the act of planting the seeds of thought into your being begins to work you.

So I hope that my action in writing this piece does make a small difference in your world and leads to you making an even bigger difference in yours and others.

Warmly,

Jenn

What are you prepared to do?