A crisis, chaos, war, or imminent danger—unrest in our body. The body wants this discomfort to disappear as quickly as possible, so we “think it up,” give it a place, interpret, analyze, rationalize, make it black and white, label friend and foe. The all-knowing mind, on high alert.
“I am on the right side,”
a sigh of relief.
Some stability in my body again.
And so, all these restless bodies, with hyperactive protective mechanisms, sit airing opinions at talk show tables, in newspaper articles, and on social media.
Yet, in my opinion, we have no idea. Really, no idea.
It would be a huge relief if we all dared to feel honestly. To feel how much anxiety there is. To feel what fear does to us. To feel how powerless we feel—and what that does to us. To recognize that our opinions are not so objective after all, that our emotions are based on something other than the topic of the day, and that black-and-white thinking is purely survival mode.
Being honest.
Feeling.
Really feeling.
Being with what is.
Without trying to fix it or interpret it.
Sitting in the discomfort, pain, and turmoil.
That’s where we find each other—in our shared humanity.
There, in that no man’s land beyond thinking, we can truly create a more loving world.
