It’s tempting to think that these are the end or worst of times for citizens of the world. With everything going on, and our constant and nearly instant access to that information, it’s been easy to feel desperate and hopeless. It seems that every day another megaton of bad news is added to the smoldering mountain of despair that we continue to endure around the world now.
Here in the US, the news is often about mass shootings. Multiple daily.
Today is October 30, 2023. There have been 13 mass shootings since the national media covered shooting in Lewiston, Maine where 18 innocent human beings were murdered ONLY 5 DAYS AGO. Reference: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting. Today’s numbers haven’t made this chart yet; it’s early.
The collective despair is palpable. I’m seeing young people who say that they will not vote in the next presidential election because they feel they are forced to vote for the lesser of two evils.
People raising children are panic-breathing under the weight of the fear for the world we’ve created for their kids. Many people of my generation seem despondent. We’re numb.
I often feel helpless and ineffectual, and my daily challenge has been an attempt to remain in a positive and loving space, maintaining my ‘vibration’ and mental health. I pray, every day, to a God that doesn’t seem to be listening or taking note of any of this madness. God, please show me how I can serve this needful planet. Please, God, help us. Where are you? Why is this happening?
Crickets.
This morning, in my prayer and meditation hour that starts my day, I was reminded of a book from another chapter of global turmoil and fear, the 1980s. I was a young adult and not very attuned to world news and events yet. I was busy battling my own personal demons in a one-woman war.
The Hundredth Monkey, by Ken Keyes, whose concept I recall often, but some of whose details I had forgotten over 40 years. If you’ve not heard of the book, it theorizes that a small group of people can influence the masses by focused intention, some would say prayer or meditation, to help humanity shift toward a collective goal. As it is, we are focusing on the wrong outcome by all of our attention to the news and the terrible feelings it evokes.
We are all visionaries taking action.
The intention I’m holding is simply to be peaceful, to be loving, to watch for small ways we might help others. As suggested by the concept of The Hundredth Monkey, if a relatively small number of people can suspend our fear, anger and grief long enough to manufacture the experience of peace within, we can then make it real moment by moment. We can radiate peace to affect those around us. We can consciously carry it everywhere we go.
I believe that the vast majority of us would like to live in a world where everyone gets to eat and be safe and have healthcare and live inside, if that’s what they choose. It really shouldn’t be too much to hope for the basic needs of all living beings on the planet to be met. We have to shift our thinking from what is not wanted, and take action toward what we want to see in the world.
There is an endless menu of ways to serve. You don’t have to join a church or a group. Start by thinking of what is important to you, then narrow it down and prioritize until your personal action steps become clear. Whatever they are, I am 100% sure that there are several hundred thousand other humans with similar priorities.
We, collectively, are a fabric, each one of us a thread of our own a hue. We are designed to see the world from our own perspective, but also possess the capacity to empathize and harmonize. Without other people, we are just an isolated bit of yarn, doing nothing remarkable for anyone. We must realize our connection to the whole.
My personal service and actions are between me and God. I was taught, by example, to “do good in secret”. It is a quiet and humble way of being. See something, do something. Anything. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture; it can be simply basic human kindness toward whomever is in front of us. These actions are every bit as important as joining a recovery effort in a developing nation.
I am reminded that this world has ALWAYS been in chaos.
I’m not quite old enough to remember nuclear drills in schools, but they were probably just as terrifying to children then as shooter drills are to school kids today. The Hundredth Monkey talks about nuclear bombs and two world powers (USA and Soviet Union) having the ability to annihilate the entire planet and make it uninhabitable for millions of years.
We’re living our lives in overwhelm. Despair. Endless wars. Genocide in the name of religion. Insanity. People who spout some pretty wild theories are my neighbors and peers. It is hard to know what to pray for, let alone what action to take.
I propose that we revisit Ken Keyes’ book, and I’ve made it available here. I want to support a movement by taking an action, that if enough people adopted, could make a real difference to life on the planet as a whole, including all people, creatures, trees and flora, and the living earth itself.
Be Peace.
We have to stop arguing amongst ourselves. Come together. We don’t have to agree with each other to allow each other to survive and thrive. Think of what matters the most to you, and send love to that thing. Look at nature. Love and appreciate it. Look at the sky. Look at your dog. Whatever you look at, feel the love and vibrate peace.
I’ve spent so much time wondering about my grand purpose, and finally have realized that maybe it’s just to learn how to be human. I’m still ferreting out what that means for me, and that has been the main theme of my morning prayer and meditation practice. “Good morning, God. Thank you for another day.” And ends with “Show me how to serve you/everything today.” In other words, WTH am I doing here?
This morning, I found and reread this book, and I want to share it with you. It is a thought provoking reminder that we can and will get through these tough times, as we always have.
God isn’t going to step in and save us from ourselves. By giving us life, God gave us purpose. Whatever your definition of God is or isn’t, if you’re atheist or agnostic, pagan, spiritual, religious, or nothing at all, we each have the power to help humanity through these times.
I want to encourage you to also take a seat as a peacemaker. Be an example for your children, partner, friends, neighbors and everyone you encounter today. Despite everything that plagues us, we can live in gratitude, we can experience joy, and we can have an impact. It’s also ok to have a meltdown sometimes, then get up and keep going.
We are the solution. We are Spirit incarnate, and it is up to us to realize this. We must become what we want for this world. That is our purpose. I want to have an impact on the people I encounter today.
What do you want to see in the world? Be that.
And Be Peace.
Download Ken Keyes’ book, The Hundredth Monkey 1984. It’s free. Please download it and distribute it at will, per public domain rules and guidelines, 2023.