At the bottom of all my emails is the phrase:
“Create a revolution. Start with your own life.”
Today many of us in the United States and around the world are feeling the fire of revolution growing within us. We are hurt, angry, sick and tired.
What do we do with that?
Change is inevitable. Aware or unaware, we are drivers of it. Whatever is happening in the world around us is a reflection of what we have inside ourselves. If we are polarized as a society it’s because we haven’t integrated the polarities within ourselves.
How do we do that?
Twenty years ago, in Robert McKee’s LA screenwriting class, I had an awakening:
Every villain is the hero of his own story, of her own world.
Whatever side you’re on, there is someone across the table with a fire of belief in their belly too. Those whom the Good call Evil are also motivated by belief, and those who flaunt their goodness in the world are often Evil in the eyes of someone else. Other countries have moved through even worse divides than ours, as I saw first-hand in South Africa three years ago when one of the world’s greatest peacemakers breathed his last breath.
Our world today is broken because we are broken. Our own unwillingness to heal – to be still and listen and understand – is our greatest obstacle to world peace. And its antidote was one of the greatest legacies of Nelson Mandela.
Whether “your candidate” won or lost this election, you are responsible for what comes next. We all are. I implore you today to ask yourself these questions:
- Where are my polarities? Where are my extremes?
- What do I need to change to embrace both sides?
- If my life ends tomorrow, what will I wish I had stood for?
- How can I act from that place in the world today?
What can I do?
I’ve been asking myself that question all week. This morning an answer came.
My stand is to create safe places where all of us can explore our own polarities, share our insights and begin to co-create what comes next in our world. So my next small action is to provide a judgment-free Safety Zone where we can all sit down together, each in the safety of our own home, get still, listen and understand.
This coming Sunday, 20 November 2016, I will host a live call for this purpose.
8:00 AM Pacific | 9:00 AM Mountain | 10:00 AM Central | 11:00 AM Eastern | 4:00 PM UK | 5:00 PM CET
To join me, just leave a comment and I’ll make sure you get the details.
Each of us has our own sphere of influence and we act in that sphere every day. If we are to create peace in the world with what we’ve been given, we need a revolution. But we need to launch it from stillness and act with discernment.
What role will you play? It all begins with you.