First off I apologize, I'm going to circumvent the message you were
supposed to be receiving today about "evolution & changing the
world," but I promise to forward that to you by next week. Instead,
I want to address an issue that is immediate and critical.
I think we often forget that what is happening in our world is a direct projection and reflection of what is happening within us....within ourselves, our relationships, our families, and our communities.
This message - and my work, in particular - directly addresses this synchronicity in an effort to offer you out-of-the-box perspectives
on how we may be able to create a life we love and impact our
world in positive and powerful ways.
The shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Gibbons
(along with almost 2 dozen bystanders) was not simply a random
shooting, although that would be horrific enough. The shooting
of Congresswoman Gibbons is an attempted political
assassination. That is, she was shot for her political views.
Having grown up through the years of the assassinations of John
F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Malcolm X,
Harvey Milk, and the attempts on President's Ford and Reagan, I
know the words "political assassination" are hard to hear. But
reality demands that we see this clearly.
So, what does all this have to do with you?I will state clearly and unequivocally that unless and until we
begin to seriously and sincerely tend to the emotional health
and well-being of ourselves - and within our society - these
acts of violence will continue and likely escalate.
This is a very challenging topic to discuss, let alone in such a
small "space." But, the seriousness of the situation requires it.
My hope is that speaking up about that which is so uncomfortable
for all of us, will help to open up new doors of awareness for
some of us.
To put it bluntly...as a society we have neglected our emotional
health, well-being, balance, and maturity. Evidence of it is all
around us; from anxiety, addiction, and antidepressants to sex,
spending, and social networks. Our children suffer from anxiety,
depression, and substance issues...and now also suffer from OCD,
ADHD, obesity, cutting, and myriad other serious disorders...our
children. Twenty-two year old shooting suspect Jared Loughner is
a product of all this, too.
I'm not trying to depress the hell out of you...but I am trying to
impress upon you the reality of where we are.
We have become a society addicted to "not feeling." We are using
substances and spending, cell phones and social networks, addictions
and antidepressants to either hyper-sensitize - or repress - our
emotions. And, when we do not care well for our emotional well-being,
our mental health becomes dysfunctional at best, dangerous at worst.
The problem is, you cannot deeply and genuinely enjoy pleasurable
experiences - like making love, intimacy, and joy - if you don't also
allow yourself the full experience of feelings like pain, anger, fear,
and sorrow.
Rage, sorrow, anger, anxiety, fear...suck. No doubt about it. But
we need to experience and express those feelings as a part
of our growth and development, so that we may also be able to
fully experience and express wonder, passion, curiosity, tenderness,
empathy, ecstasy...and love. It's a package deal.
Experiencing and expressing our emotions is how we learn, grow,
and mature. It is key to our mental health and it is integral to our
evolution as individuals, and to the health and well-being of our
society as a whole.
(more next time...)
(For more about the concepts expressed in this email message, go to
"The Certainty of Intimacy: being more of you." And, "Addiction Nation:
we're all addicts," at www.kellygracesmith.com)
