(A bit of a rant. A bit of a nudge. A bit of play on what keeps you stuck in your corner when all your big midlife intentions are telling you to go out and save the world. And a couple small strategies for saving your inner and outer worlds.)
World Saving. Whew! War. Famine. Natural Disaster. Disease. Governmental Foolishness. Financial Breakdowns. Climate Change. Health Insurance. Energy. Anti-Aging. Big stuff. Sounds complicated.
At YOUR age?
In YOUR condition?
With YOUR limited (financial, emotional, material, inner, and so on) resources?
And let’s not even mention your attitude. Speaking of which . . Who in their right mind would let you get near any vulnerable worlds worth saving?! (Just kidding. Sort of.)
The thing is: If you read this blog on a regular basis, you probably already know my thoughts on world saving.
There’s actually nothing wrong with it, aside from the size of the bite it demands of those bent on the act.
You see, my mother taught me from a very early age that “a lady takes small bites.”
She also, of course, taught me to iron my father’s boxer shorts. . . It pays to question.
World Saving? Way too big to even start wrapping my mouth around.
Then again, that’s my stuff.
What about you?
What’s Getting In YOUR Way?
What seems to be the problem?
What’s getting in YOUR way?
Why haven’t YOU started?
Is it one of those “heart being willing, but nothing else is stepping up to the plate” sorts of things?
It’s understandable. Like I said, world saving is big stuff. One world. So much in need of your help. It’s hard to know what really warrants your time and energy.
I mean, what do you tackle first? Do you throw your bountiful net around the whole big spinning ball, and go with what you catch? (A kind of dizzying haphazard, if interesting, approach.)
Or is health care, bullying, or the world’s shrinking drinkable water supply enough to fill your plate glass at least half full . . empty . . full?
Or, are even THOSE individual problems too big? I mean, after all . . I thought you wanted to save the world.
How small are you willing to go before the immensity of your effort just isn’t there? We ARE going for BIG, right?
Think for a moment: What’s REALLY getting your way?
Maybe world saving really isn’t your “thing”. It’s easy to get caught up in the BIG of stuff. And the media has a tendency to magnify, color, and confuse the issues that catch our attention, doesn’t it?
It’s not hard to imagine why the heart keeps raising its hand when the call goes out. We want to feel needed. We want to contribute. We want to make a difference for someone – anyone.
In the bigger picture of things, your life and mine are heaven compared to those of the starving children and sick/injured/war-torn souls on the television screen. And it’s hard to ignore the fact that the icebergs are melting, while you’re safe inside in front of a roaring fire with marshmallows. (Yep, I get the irony.)
Are You Sure YOU Aren’t Getting In Your Way?
Except all those someones and icebergs are out there – external to where you do your living. When you turn off the television, or put down the newspaper, it’s YOUR stuff you still have to face. It’s YOUR stuff getting in your way.
It’s you feeling frustrated and unhappy with your STUFF, but doing nothing to change it, that makes it so easy to focus on everything else that’s happening in the world.
So, you say you want to save the world? Your heart aches for everyone and everything you imagine to need your help? SO?!
What part of all the HARD in YOUR life isn’t your heart getting?! (No big flashy news stories. Just your HARD demanding your attention.)
It could be some of that arterial plaque-type stuff is clogging the heart/HARD connection. You’re no spring chicken, after all. Or maybe you’ve just gotten really good at ignoring your needs in favor of everyone else’s.
It can be tough for one person – YOU – to figure your where your energy might best serve, can’t it? I know. The boxer shorts pile is so big . . and you’re just a little kid with an iron.
But what if it didn’t have to be?
What if world saving didn’t demand as much as you imagine it does? What if you’re getting stuck in the bigness of it all, when that’s not the issue?
What if the HARD in your life and the BIG in the world could reach a compromise – something workable and helpful at the same time?
What if you have more options than you realize?
Now I’m not saying I have all the answers. I might have a couple, though. (I’m sure there are many others. But if right now you don’t have even one, a couple can be just what you’re looking for . . so I’m going to share mine.)
A Couple Simple World Saving Thoughts
1. Put Your Own Air Mask On First
What if, rather than setting out to save the great big gangly ball of a world, you put your energy toward something a bit smaller and more manageable?
What if you decided to “save” – or at least to create some order in – your own inner world?
I know, scary stuff in your inner world. But if world peace depended on it, you’d go inside and chat with the big scary, right? So do that. What could it hurt?
You might surprise yourself and end up a little happier, too. And, happiness rubs off. It’s a fact.
And what if, by making peace with your inner world, the outer world became a little more peaceful too?
Stranger things have happened.
2. World Saving Is Bigger Than One Person
What if the one thing required to save the world, was that you stopped trying to do it alone?
What if true world saving demanded a group effort?
And not just a group effort, but an effort of such dimensions and magnitude that the group include everyone – even those you rail against . . each doing just one thing, the one thing he or she alone knows how to do with such delicacy, precision and love that no one else could compare?
And what if, by each person – together – doing their own thing, life got getter for everyone and everything. (Okay, maybe I’m dreaming here, but just go with it!)
Would you be willing if you could stop judging yourself and everyone else, and you didn’t know you could fail?
The world doesn’t care. It will keep spinning regardless of what you or I do to “fix” its ills. It will keep spinning if you or I do nothing but work on ourselves and see what rubs off. If you have a midlife itch to save it, go for it. Just ask some friends along for the joy of it.
So, about this world saving thing. Here’s the way I see it:
Get a little happier in your inner world.
Connect with others in your outer world.
Whatever you decide to do or not, just go about it with a positive intention, and things will happen.
What do YOU think, though, when it comes to inner and outer world saving-type stuff? Are you a world saver at heart? How do you balance your inner needs against those of the big picture? Who do you care for first? How do you make sure your needs for love and sustenance aren’t taking a back seat to those that keep drawing our attention? Please share your thoughts.
Keep growing my friend,
Gail
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