MMM: On Living Big (while others suffer) . . .

It's a big question: If there are others suffering in the world, what right do I have to think about myself or my lofty goals? What right do I have to be prosperous when others are living in poverty? What right do I have to consider more for myself when there are others who can't even feed themselves, literally or figuratively?

I'll begin with a quote from Marianne Williamson who talks in her book The Age of Miracles about the Butterfly Effect (based in Chaos Theory):

"When a butterfly flaps its wings near the tip of South America, it affects the wind patterns near the North Pole. And the same is true in the realm of consciousness: Every miracle you work in your life is a blessing on life itself."

There is only ONE life happening that we are all a part of. If we are each considered "Source Energy", an aspect of the divine, and we are all in fact one big interwoven tapestry, then we are all connected. There is no vibrational place where you end and I begin. Together, we make up the "collective consciousness" Carl Jung talks about.

That being said, however, we can only be responsible for how we conduct our own lives. Planetary transformation happens one consciousness at a time, and the only one we can be responsible for is our own.

You've heard the saying, "Think Globally, Act Locally". I like this because it holds true for consciousness as well. Our responsibility is to live our full expression. Responsibility simply means - our Ability to Respond. By doing for ourselves, we come to a place where we are able to do for others and we change the consciousness of possibility on the planet.
Monotype Print S. Derian

At Obama's inauguration, there were a lot of people being interviewed on the Plaza. One that struck me was an African American father. When asked what Obama's presidency meant to him, he said, "It means I will no longer have to lie to my son. Now, I've seen it for myself and can say with honesty: He CAN be anything he wants when he grows up. Even the President of the United States."

This is how change happens. Someone first has to carry the torch of possibility. Let others know it's possible.

No amount of suffering we do on our part will alleviate the suffering in another part of the world. However, every bit the amount of success we live can increase another's chances of success. We cannot hold a hand out to pull someone up without stable footing ourselves.

You've heard it from flight attendants: should their be a decrease in cabin pressure, place the oxygen mask over yourself first, and then secure that of your child's.

We must first bring ourselves to the level of success so that we can affect change for others. But we will never get there if we insist on using other people's lives as our excuse not to.

One person's elevation creates possibilities for the rest of us, if not by example, by influence. Oprah, in her response to the declining economy, called a Billionaires Summit. In a closed door meeting in NY, a few months ago, some of the richest men and Oprah (she was the only woman), met to talk about philanthropic foundations and which charities they would give to. She used her success to make a difference.

We all have that level of influence within us. It may not be the Billionaires Summit. It may be contributing our success or talents at the PTA meeting, or the Neighborhood Watch Group, or the Environmental Protection Agency, or the Commission for the Arts Council. Or it may be using our sphere of influence raising our children to be kind and tolerant and responsible people.

I do not agree that everyone wants to be the next Wayne Dyer or Suze Orman. There is a female executive somewhere who's true desire is to give up the 80 hour work week to bake cookies with her children and participate in their Girl Scout meeting, host slumber parties in her home and watch her kids grow up. And her following this desire would be her warrior path and her example to let other parents know that they can be full time mothers and still be strong, powerful women.

Or there is the couple who wants to give up all their worldly possessions and travel by backpack around the world.

Or there is the environmentalist who wants to work at a landfill and discover new and more efficient ways of refuse disposal.

Our job, is not to judge one desire or goal as more or less important or worthy than another. Our job is to give life to the potential or seedling of desire we have within us and maximize it as best we can.

I am not going to say this is easy. It is much easier to throw ourselves into another persons cause, crusade or success than to take the steps towards our own. Resistance is strong when it comes to our own expression. I know. I'm guilty of succumbing to it, myself. But we always know when we're doing it. There is a niggling in our gut that says, "Excuse me! Um. What are you doing?!" And we have to come back to ourselves.

On the Actors Studio on the Bravo Channel, James Lipton at the end of his interviews asks the actors what he hopes God will say to them when they get to the "Pearly Gates of Heaven". When he asks Steven Spielberg this question Steven hopes God will say, "Thanks for listening".

We are always being whispered to, directed, and led to our next step on the path. The dream is lodged within us long before it takes form in our external world. The charge is: do we have the courage to follow it? Do we have the faith to believe in it? Do we have the tenacity to see it through?

Years ago, I placed an ad on craigslist seeking to interview successful business owners. I wanted to hear their strategy and in exchange I would buy them a cup of coffee or a meal. One business owner I met with owned 3 Jamba Juice franchises in the Oakland area. His advice was to follow your dreams and believe in yourself. To illustrate this, he told me a story about a woman who would come into his juice bar every day and talk to him about the book she was writing. She told him that one day she would be a very successful author and people would know who she was. The woman? Suze Orman.

Turns out, before Suze Orman was Suze Orman, she was just a woman in a juice bar who envisioned becoming Suze Orman.

As within, so without.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, do not squander the thing within you that is trying to emerge. Instead, fan the flame. Find out what it's all about. Discover yourself.

And do not use another persons suffering as your excuse not to thrive. There is enough lack, pain and limitation being covered on the news. We are all part of what I consider a cosmic teeter-totter - and we need to tip the scales, energetically, the other way. Even if that small way is simply exploring our greater potential. Or forgiving our neighbor. Or spending time in our garden to listen to the birds sing. Giving thanks.