January 2017 e-Newsletter: We Didn’t Start the Fire!

“It was always burning since the world’s been turning…” Some deep, heartfelt conversation about our future ensued recently when I hosted a gathering of friends.

The consensus was an informal agreement to deepen our spiritual engagement with life, to expand our commitment to the issues that matter most to us, to listen deeply – especially to those with whom we may have differing opinions – and to maintain a wholehearted faith in our future. We vowed to be “change-makers” through our fierce love, compassion and pursuit of deep wisdom. We also agreed to continuously act in a manner that is aligned with our values and our hearts.

The times in which we live now demand a critical re-evaluation of all our relationships: to sentient life around us, to our fellow citizens, to our country and to our planet. The search for authenticity, for reclaiming our deep empathy, need not stop at the door of politics. The time is now, to deeply extend ourselves and our actions into realms that so powerfully affect the entire global family of life.

It is a time to come together in deep conversation about the state of our nation and about the ways in which each of us can immediately participate in grassroots activities to act locally and have a global impact. The questions that rest on many of our hearts at this moment are, Where do we go now? and Where do we begin?

Each week we witness the beauty and courage of people discovering their voice and their courage, stepping forth, armed only with love as the guiding force in their lives. Wherever there are hate crimes, racism, misogyny, whenever Congress attempts to limit the rights of women over their bodies, whenever corporate greed and manipulation of global resources defile the Earth (our air, water and food), it is there that we will speak up and demand accountability. All of these scenarios become a catalytic force, the “tipping point” that unifies us as the global family of humanity in which the 99% unify to reclaim our power through fierce love coupled with action.

But, it would be short-sighted to look back at these past 365 days and see only tumult and chaos.

• Carbon emissions are flat-lining…  The Guardian reports, “After more than a century and a half of nearly unbroken growth, the quantity of greenhouse gases we pour into the atmosphere each year has stalled for the third year running.” 
• Global population boom is slowing… In November, the Family Planning 2020 initiative reported that the number of women using contraceptives in its 69 target countries had leapt by 30 million in the past four years alone. The increase in family planning could cut projections of population growth by as much as 1 billion over the coming years.
• Sri Lanka is the latest nation to be declared malaria free… with more than 30 countries, that include some 2 billion people now expecting to follow suit in the next four years.
• And… the Cubs won the World Series!

I celebrate our New Year of 2017 with you all. We have much work to do and may very well consider 2016 to have been a gift, one that motivates us all to become the most authentic embodiment of who we truly are and to stand up for what it is that we truly believe in.

Here is to a fabulous 2017!
Dr. Melissa