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I wonder a lot lately. I wonder if we are falling asleep at the wheel while so many of the values we hold dear careen out of control toward the cliff’s edge at a perilous speed?
I wonder at the unsustainable pace of change that I see around me. The more I compare the world I live in now with the one of 2019 (a mere six years ago), the more I’m aware of just how quickly things can change and how easily I acculturate to the new way of being. I wonder how often I am abdicating my outrage, my resistance, my protest, because I am just too tired, too overwhelmed, or too focused on just putting one foot in front of the other. I wonder what I will say when I wake up six years from now in 2031 in a world that is unrecognizable because, in my infinite adaptability, I forgot to stand up for the values I espouse. I wonder who I will blame. I wonder if I will regret what I might have done but did not. I wonder if I will continue to put my head down and take care of my own, forgetting that “my own” should extend to all beings, that my stewardship should include all, not just those who have helped me advance, fed my ego or my pocketbook, or who look, think, or worship like me. I wonder if I will have drunk the Kool-Aid by then. I wonder if I already have. For the foreseeable future, I will leave you with these words… “May you be rocked, as deeply as necessary, and as gently as possible” Louisa
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As these challenging times continue, we are all learning to dig deep as we navigate an uncharted landscape, one that reverberates on many levels at once, challenging long held beliefs and assertions about the way in which our social contract is lived.
I have been struggling to understand the appeal of the “burn it down” model of governance and why so many seem engaged and willing to act against their own interests. It is clear that the new authoritarian approach to managing government is causing, and will continue to cause, suffering to so many on a global scale. It is getting increasingly difficult to pretend that we are not all interconnected and that what we do to one does not affect the whole. And yet, people continue to rally in support of cruel and draconian efforts to reshape our lives to meet their narrow and bigoted ideals. What could create this kind of dissonance? What need is being met that allows usually well-meaning, kind people to allow the suffering of others to continue as they look away? We are all aware of the intentional chaos that inundates us, designed to normalize the most egregious behavior as we sit in stunned silence trying to find our bearings. By the time we have reoriented ourselves, the affront is “old news” and we must now manage the new assault on our sense of decency, civility, and compassion. It is not even necessary to pay close attention to feel viscerally the level of anxiety that is culturally permeating our day-to-day existence. We all feel the effects of the fear mongering that is shouted at us at every opportunity, the vilification of the other, the absurd, yet somehow believed, accusations of disloyalty or terrorism, levied against those exercising their constitutional rights to assemble, protest, and travel. The demonization and fear of other so deeply instilled that war and violence are offered, and somehow accepted, as the only possible deterrents to war and violence. Fear breeds a withdrawal into ego. A primal need to protect oneself from the unexpected events that are now offered as proof of a failed society. Fear breeds a smallness that we cannot afford. Fear makes us turn away from the other, instead of extending a tender and loving hand. And that fear, left unchallenged, twists and distorts us, moving us ever further from love, compassion, and care of one another. This is why those who succumb to fear will choose authoritarianism even in the face of mounting evidence of the destruction it causes, even to themselves and those they love. Put down the fear. As best you can. If each of us could put down even only 10% of our fear, our egos, our smallness, and extend our comfort and compassion beyond just those who look and think as we do, it would be enough. It would be enough. Blessings on your journey, Louisa |
AuthorLouisa has always enjoyed writing and is thrilled that she now has a way to share her musings with a larger community of like-minded seekers. Her writing is often an extension and exploration of the struggles she faces in integrating her own spirituality, scholarly study, life experience, and nuggets of brilliance from her teachers in the hopes that it might alchemically transform itself into something approximating wisdom. Archives
September 2025
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