Today, I wanted to get an update on
BP's latest clean-up attempt, "Top Kill."
One line gave me pause:
"BP will release updates when appropriate."
Right then and there,
it struck me that is what happens
when we blame, point the finger,
and accuse anyone of causing anything
on this round planet...
We lose our own power
and ability to respond.
We actually give away our own power and respond-ability...
Whe I am responsible for everything,
then I get to ask myself:
"How are my actions responsible for this?
How did I contribute to this issue?"
And then I get to find a path to taking some action in the world,
instead of sitting powerless behind a pointed finger...
(as my mom always pointed out, that when I point a finger,
three fingers are always pointing right back at me!)
We all pointed our fingers at BP from the very beginning...
"this your mess to clean up..."
We spent so much time spent in courtrooms and
in front of tv sets and computers...
this is how we responded to disaster...
by first assigning blame.
Wow.
Now, we all have one target
for our frustration and anger,
at the planetary devastation we have all created.
BP.
How does that serve this situation at all?
Honestly, this question and inquiry
started for me within my own being...
as I watched the trials,
watched myself get really into blaming,
anger,
finger pointing...
not only with BP and this oil gush crisis,
but also in other areas of my life...
I begin to notice more and more places
where blame shows up:
blame I assign,
and blame others assign me...
I noticed that in my relationships,
I had a real lack of empathy...
coming out of me
as well as coming to me...
not giving or receiving...
I have only recently even begun
to comprehend compassion and
empathy,
even though I've read about it,
and spoken about it as a basic human need in my yoga classes...
Reading about Non-Violent Communication over the years,
and then actually attending workshops and other gatherings
with Catherine Cadden and Jesse Wiens,
www.zenvc.org
has really helped me to begin to give this
"idea"of empathy, of compassion,
some feet and legs, hands and arms...
some practical use-ability in my own life...
Now I want all my relationships to have empathy as
the foundation.
So, I get to practice it, minute by minute.
Self-empathy and empathy for others.
As I practice compassion,
I'm actually noticing an increase in my intimacy,
my ability to really connect with myself,
to heal,
within myself and with "other" people and form lasting,
deeply connected relationships.
What would it be like to offer BP empathy...
(This is just a first shot...
I'm actually pretty new to empathy, myself,
but I've had some amazing results from it in my personal life...)
"Wow, BP. I bet you're feeling pretty scared and freaked out
that one of your oil rigs is totally devastating the waters as we speak.
I'm guessing that you are needing some support in figuring all this out.
Would you be willing to join forces with our government with our scientists and
help us to clean up our world?"
Just a shot..
At the very least,
it creates space
within my own heart right now.
I find it to be a very interesting result
of all this blaming and fault finding that
now we, as a planet, get to wait
to get updates about "Operation Top Kill,"
from BP,
a company,
about the state of things...
on our planet, in our waters.
Like a child, afraid of further punishment,
BP will manipulate the truth
so as to avoid punishment...
this is what happens in "power over" models and paradigms...
This is all one big "power" play...
All of us,
who fuel this fuel industry,
who drive the demand
with our addiction to oil,
point the finger at the drug dealers
when catastrophe surfaces...
after we sought them out in the first place...
and the we create this
large scale dysfunctional parent/child relationship.
It reminds me of my own childhood.
There was such an atmosphere of crime and punishment
set up in my household,
and all my parents knew was this paradigm,
so they did the best they could...
and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for
giving me life,
and loving me so much that I am still alive and thriving now,
And
In that paradigm,
especially as a teenager,
I was afraid to mention when
anything happened that would cause a stir,
let alone something big...
s0 I never really gave my parents the
full truth about anything,
which kept us both from the intimacy
that comes from honesty that we could have shared.
After spending my adult years working
through the pain of that paradigm,
and even marrying a man who
spent 10 years of his life in prison,
I see the devastating effects of crime and punishment.
This fuels my daily search for new ways of living,
new paradigms to learn,
to be able to create a whole new reality for myself
and for future generations on this planet.
I am learning to operate, at least in my household, my friendships,
and in my yoga classes,
from a power-with paradigm.
Co-creation.
I am practicing living from a place of:
"I am 100% responsible for the creation of my experience."
"I am a beautiful, wonderful woman, worthy of all good things."
"I can't be bad, no matter what."
These are new and radical thoughts for me,
that take daily, hourly practice,
and as I work with these and other
abundant and expansive thought forms,
I began to un-wind and shift the blame,
resentment, criticism into more spaciousness, openness and love.
In writing this blog post,
my intention is to expand my
awareness of empathy in my household,
to include the whole world.
I want to highlight the macrocosm that the world stage presents,
reflecting back on the microcosm of self-empathy,
and empathy within our households...
Creating intimacy and authentic relationships
in our families and the entire world
and creating clear, tangible solutions to big world issues
is actually possible by releasing our
old pattern of blame and seeking to connect.
I think it takes believing in each other's inherent goodness and beauty.
I honestly believe that it is possible to see world peace in my lifetime,
and I will work and play for peace until I take my last breath.
No comments:
Post a Comment