We are fed up with the colonization of our minds, spirits, and entire lives by the politics of fear. These past few years – which have seemingly revolved around the injection of fear into the American psyche in almost every facet of one’s life – have resulted in absurdly-tyrannical crimes against love and progress.
Let’s consider the War on Terror: Does terrorism and evil exist in the world? Of course it does. Ironically, it did not take the emergence of ISIS to highlight this truth. We’ve seen evidence of evil in our own country; whether through the infamous brutal youth killings by our police forces or by greed-mongering capitalists who take eschew fairness and forthrightness in order to take advantage of consumers at every opportunity, and who place the bottom line ahead of real dangers like global warming. Does anyone remember Bernie Madoff? We do!
On the flip side, one must remember that altruism, humanitarianism, and light continue to exist on the planet as well. We guess it’s the yin and yang of balance in the universe. While we may have a long way to go in our effort to eradicate racism, sexism, and classism in this country, let’s remember that we are the most giving citizens in the world and we have significantly contributed to the rise of social entrepreneurialism and its cool factor, led by companies and charitable organizations such as Toms, Bucketfeet, Indiegogo, and LiveStrong, just to name a few.
But what continues to blow our minds is how fear is pumped into our brains on a daily basis, much more often than love is. As a result, the human spirit’s ability to be free, uninhibitedly optimistic, and unabashedly authentic is crippled. Whether it’s the negatively-alarming news the media feeds us – with beheadings and plane crashes and disappearances – or the common fears of not being accepted for who you are, losing a job, starting a new career, eating non GMO meals, gluten, and now even kale, the fear frenzy is running rampant and it’s time to switch the station and elevate our frequencies.
We must combat fear by pushing beyond it to arrive at a place of understanding and balance at all costs, no matter what number we happen to receive from the lottery of life. We must learn to be unapologetic-ally bold and free to express ourselves and stand up for what we believe in. We must mentally battle life and when given the opportunity to look at the glass half empty or half full, choose the latter, EVERY SINGLE TIME! And in the midst of all these things, we must hold on to our humanity, clinging tight to the beautiful assets that actually make us human – our ability to love and forgive ourselves as well as others despite our differences and our ability to conquer our insecurities and fears, instead of our common tendency to hide from them.
Remember Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech in which he said, “[T]he only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” The sentiment might feel trite, but it remains true. Be fearless. Be honest. And, most of all, BE LOVE with everything you do and with whomever you come in contact on life’s journey.
Cris
