Dispelling Fear Narratives
Photo Credit: Nasa
“Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle’s essential teaching podcast titled, “The Paradox of Order and Chaos,” is the inspiration for today’s musings blog. It is an important message during this time of world chaos. For Ukrainians suffering a long and politically motivated war. For Americans under the leadership of a narcissist with no perceivable moral compass. For Canadians in the aftermath of Trump’s tariff policies and threats of making Canada the 51st state. For people across the globe, mostly from first-world countries, caught up in a frightening narrative of climate crisis.
Putin’s war against Ukraine…
As someone who no longer finds it healthy to listen to what’s broadcast on the news, I can hardly claim to be knowledgeable about the war between Russia and Ukraine. I don’t know which stories I’ve heard are true, false, embellished, or partial. What I know is how I feel when I hear Olena, the Ukrainian woman who does my nails, describe how rockets fly over her hometown every day. What I know is how I felt when looking at the 1971 globe in the Cornish library in Winnipeg and discovering that Ukraine was a Russian state at that time. A war of people against their own people in the pursuit of power, control, and resources.
Toxic Trump …
As per the previous paragraph, I have limited knowledge of the political situation in the United States. What I know is what I’ve felt whenever I’ve witnessed Trump speak. Sick to my stomach. Trump’s comments on the Me-Too movement, in pre-election speeches, and during the Harvey Weinstein trial. He is openly misogynistic and racist, without apology. The recent live debacle with Zelensky further highlighted his toxic narcissism. The similarities between Trump’s agenda and Hitler’s terrify me. Economic booms for some at the expense of others. In Germany, it cost millions of lives. It seems we cannot learn from history.
The climate crisis…
Climate has always changed and always will. Change is the very nature of weather. Climate is complex, and certainly not the sole result of the behaviour of human beings. We aren’t that powerful. There have been five mass extinctions known to science. Species have come and gone while the earth remains. That doesn’t mean our choices don’t matter. But to create unbearable hardships for people in extremely cold or hot parts of the world and for third-world populations because of the possibility of a future where the earth burns to a crisp is inhumane.
My Thoughts …
Life is a paradox and a riddle far too complicated for any human being to fully comprehend. Hence the scripture, “Lean not onto your understanding.” We can’t possibly figure everything out and it’s not our responsibility. We can’t see the big picture and we don’t know the future.
There have always been challenges, as well as great joys, and there always will be. It is the experience of life that transforms us, not the intellectualization of it. According to Eckhart, it is chaos that creates evolution. It is our destiny as humanity, a planet, and a universe.
I believe as Eckhart, that human suffering as an argument against the existence of God is an error. I don’t believe in God as an entity controlling our lives, doling out punishments to those who don’t follow the rules. Chaos and order are both realities of life.
The Divine Intelligence is formless and limitless. The beginning and the end, of which there is none because God is eternal. God does not live in a place in the sky, yet heaven does exist, on a different dimension. God is in us and all around us, a part of everything that lives. God is beyond imagination, even one as fantastical as mine. When we reduce Creator to being like us, in a tiny, limited box, it’s like trying to explain a galaxy by a star or a human body by a single cell.
Life on our planet has a purposeful design that includes chaos and order, light and dark, good and evil. Everything. Suffering isn’t personal. It isn’t a judgment or a decree of unworthiness when bad things happen. It is the nature of life. The challenge for us is how to endure with integrity. It is through our spiritual strength that we overcome adversity and discover resilience.
My faith in the Creator, that all is well, and that I have everything I need to fulfill my purpose, is what sustains me inside the chaos. I can’t solve all my problems, let alone those of the universe. It isn’t my responsibility, nor yours. But we are responsible for our choices. Dwelling on negative thoughts weakens our ability to stay positive. Worry serves no purpose. Instead, let us unite in shining our light. Together, we can make a difference.
COMING UP…
Books & Projects:
· All four of my books are available online at Amazon, Chapters-Indigo, and Barnes & Noble. You can also find them at select Chapters-Indigo and El Hombre de la Mancha bookstores.
· I am pursuing representation from a traditional publisher for my fifth literary fiction, a psychological drama that explores the complexities of mental illness and trauma. Stay in touch by signing up for my blog or following me on social media to find out when it will be published.
Reviews & Interviews:
· You can read, listen, or watch a large selection of reviews and interviews on my website.
Events:
· There are no events currently scheduled in my calendar.
YouTube Channel:
· Watch The Rogue Scorpion trailer.
· Watch The Holding trailer.
· Watch The Healing trailer.