Have you recently felt alarmed, angry, and outraged at current events? This is likely the case no matter where you live in the world. And maybe, like me, you feel that you want to do something. This feeling may be prompted by anger, fear, or compassion. All these feelings are valid, and they all warrant your attention. Before acting, however, I encourage you to do some inner work, so you act, not “re-act.”
The word react is literally to mindlessly make the same choice again. This may be “re-acting” choices you’ve made in the past. Or it may be “re-acting” the same actions someone else has performed, a tit for tat response. Either way, “re-acting” is a primal response of low consciousness.
Consider new actions, not “re-actions.”
Most people operate by feeling something, choosing a response to that feeling, and then rationalizing the results. Although this way of reacting allowed the human species to survive, it is a primal response that threatens to send us all back to the stone age. This path never results in any new actions or new results.
As consciousness rises, we begin to feel something, decide what action to take, and intentionally act. Someone who pauses a moment to consider possible actions, and potentially take a new action, will experience something different than if they stayed in a reactive mode. Our feelings still prompt us to act, but the range of actions expands, and we may not “re-act” our same choices.
When we gain self-knowledge and grow our consciousness further, we trust ourselves enough to first decide how we show up in the world. Then we make choices that reflect our True self. The choices we make are new actions, not “re-actions.” We then mindfully experience the consequences of our choices. The labels of good or bad consequences melt away. We act with integrity and detach from outcomes that never belonged to us.
Our own transformation is the only thing we control.
We cannot control the world or others around us. The only thing we control is ourselves. Feel all your emotions, even the ones you may consider to be “bad.” Contemplate your response. Consider what you want to put into the world. Choose actions that reflect your True self. Act with integrity and be confident that you make the world a better place, even for a single person.
And I encourage you to recognize all people as members of a great web of humanity. Even those you fundamentally disagree with. Especially those whose actions you feel are evil. Fight with kindness, compassion, and dignity instead of “re-acting” with anger and hatred. Go forth and make the world a kinder place.
Plan your actions with intention and experience your True self. So It Flows can help.