What Does Chaos Teach Us?

The new year awaits you, Beloved.

The journey here may have you yearning to collapse into the arms of 2021, seeking respite from the chaos that was 2020. The New Year has been the subject of many internet jokes suggesting that with its arrival, we’d awaken from this nightmare, and normalcy would return.

Yet, when we look around, it looks oddly familiar, doesn’t it?

The virus remains.
Political chaos remains.
The world and its inhabitants are still hurting.

We’re sensible people though. We know that at least the first half of 2021 would merely be a continuation of 2020. This type of awareness gives us permission to shift from observation to action.

What do I mean by this?

Birthing is painful. If you have ever witnessed a live birth, you have seen the strength and struggle it takes to push a baby from the womb. This is true in humans and animals alike. The baby also endures a tremendous amount of pressure on its body as it is ejected from the security of its cocoon into a whole new environment.

This is the reality of existence.

From grievous pain bursts forth glorious life.

Just as a mother births her child, humanity is birthing a brand new world. As we bear witness to these terrifying and life-changing events, we must recognize them for what they can be. A powerful catalyst to help create a new paradigm which will bring heightened levels of awareness, understanding and connection.

World War II was such an event. Americans would lose 407,000 soldiers under the weight of a war fought in distant lands while the horror of the Holocaust revealed the darkest depths of human nature.

Parents were left without children and countless communities suffered over the loss of their young men, many still teenagers, who would never live to have children of their own. Indeed, this was universal grief shared around the world, prompting global leaders to convene in agreement that this was too high a price to pay for war.

Life was too precious.

Worldwide military casualties numbered in the millions. Even more disturbing was the slaughter of millions of innocent human beings - so many of them children - because of the pathology that is prejudice, bigotry, racism, and xenophobia. Precious lives exterminated because they were deemed despicable, untouchable and unworthy.

When the world finally rose from its willful slumber and saw the reality of the mass extermination of the Jewish people (as well as a large number of non-Jews such as Slavs, Romanis, LGBTQ+, the mentally and physically handicapped and more), nations -- enemies and friends alike -- said, “enough.”

In the end, WWII provided the mirror that mankind needed, to see itself for what it was. We responded -- committing to a better way.

In other words -- a new world had been born. Through the pain, sorrow - the abject horror - we said, “never again”. Yet, even today, our commitment is repeatedly tested by those same dangers: prejudice, bigotry, racism, and xenophobia thinly veiled in our politics, religion and social dynamics.

Yet, the light continues to overcome the darkness. We continue to unify and evolve because despite the challenges, the human condition favors kindness, compassion, equity and justice.

It won’t happen overnight. Evolution takes time and we must take a broader perspective.
Thankfully, we no longer toss children into active volcanoes to satisfy the anger of a misunderstood god. We don’t line up enslaved humans and auction them off like grandma’s estate furniture. In most areas of the world but sadly not all, women are free to vote, work, own property, and do as they like with their bodies.

Yes, Beloved. The light continues to overcome the darkness, but this does not happen in a vacuum or without cooperation. We must be willing to accept the invitation to hold the mirror up to our collective humanity. We must commit to view our existence in its entirety, lest we fall back to sleep and turn our welfare over to the greedy and self-serving who will try to convince us that their actions serve our highest good.

Personal introspection in the same manner is even more important. You and I are both prone to migrate toward comfort and complacency if we are blind to the fact that our individual actions impact those around us. The fallout can be just as toxic and deadly to those who suffer our behaviors and beliefs.

The call for accountability in yourself is one you should always heed.
It is soulwork.
As you stand inside the portal of a new year, the call is not an invitation.

It is a requirement.

You can, of course, ignore it. Free will means you have a choice and that choice will determine whether you accept Divine wisdom and join humanity’s rise to compassion, equity and justice or go around the mountain -- one more time -- and refuse to see what is asking to be released because it not only no longer serves your highest good…

it guarantees that those who are bound to you through family, work or friendship are dragged -- one more time -- around that same mountain right along with you.

And history repeats itself.

It is indeed, your choice.

Happy New Year.

Blessed be.