Musings on Finding Our Place in the World

 It is a time in our lives when the whole world, the institutions and traditions we have been surrounded with all our lives, may well be heading for collapse. Despite our general belief that humans should be what we call "moral" (kind to others, peaceful, fair, cooperative), we are seeing the government in this country becoming steeped in falsehoods, targeted hate crimes, and the destruction of the democracy we have assumed would last forever. Even if we don't watch the news, we feel it in our bones. We are all connected in ways we cannot see, and we are increasingly challenged to find our own path amid the apparent chaos. What are our real values? Our culture seems increasingly to focus on making money, competition, accumulating possessions, and joining what we see as the superior winning tribe, be it political, racial, or religious. What we learned in Sunday School seems a long time ago! It is time to look inside and see what really matters to each of us.

As a bodyworker, I am beginning to see that we are affected by numerous influences, even if our minds don't notice them. Our bodies are like sounding boards, with constant incoming data. And as time goes on, we discover more. We all know about our ordinary senses. Our eyes see, our ears hear, our noses smell, our skin touches, our tongues taste. What I am learning now is that each of these senses is complex. They can expand into quite a resonant source of information. For instance, I can hear a piece of music, and enjoy it. However, when I actually play a piece of music, or sing it (or both, as in our ukulele group each Sunday afternoon), the experience broadens. When you let your body move to that music, that also expands the experience. Our bodies resonate to more things than we can see or notice. 

I remember when I was a young mother living far from my family of origin, sometimes the phone would ring and I knew it was my mother. This is not because she called very often. There was nothing I could identify that would give me this clue. But I always knew it was her before I answered the phone. During Covid, when I had to let go of in-person bodywork sessions, I decided to use Long Distance Reiki for my clients. I had taken the three required Reiki courses in massage school, but had never used it. It seemed a stretch of the imagination to think that I could have an effect on someone not even in my office. But low and behold, it actually worked! I'd have a rolled-up blanket on my lap to symbolize the client's body, and once I focused and tuned into that client, I could feel their bodies, the places that needed some input, the releases that happened. I started at their heads (the 7th chakra) and gradually moved down to the 1st (the root chakra). And my hands felt stuck to one area until the client let go and I could move on. Wow.

I am increasingly realizing that we humans are amazing organisms. And we are surrounded by other amazing organisms. We are not solitary beings, whether we choose to interact with others or not. There are influences everywhere, some seen and some unseen. We react to a huge array of unseen influences like weather, solar flares, astrological shifts, other people's thoughts and energies. Our personal energy field extends several inches beyond the edge of our bodies (this is now scientifically proven). So when we join a group of others, our energy fields rub against each other and interact. Some people are more sensitive to this than others. Not only are we not the solitary units we imagine, but we actually house all sorts of small microbial life inside us, some beneficial and some not so much. When you let all this sink in, it feels even more that we are indeed a web of life on this planet. No one is disconnected. We are all, in a way, one being. That's why we feel the unrest and upset of our current government "in our bones".

 So here we are in challenging times. How do we find the right path for ourselves? Are we even capable of making decisions, realizing all the influences that affect us? Yes. Our decisions have a great impact on how we lead our lives. We just need to give it some deep thought. As I write this, I realize that being pretty old makes this easier. At age 80, I know that I won't live for many years longer. I have the good fortune to have a house over my head, enough food to eat, and a friendly community to live in. That lets me ponder what's most important to me now. Do I want to relax, watch baseball games, eat good food, and hang out in comfort? Or is there a way to reach out with my energy to try to make the world a little more positive? I do like to watch baseball! But that's not enough. My own decision is that my life will feel better, more worthwhile, if there's something I can do that goes beyond myself, that reaches out in a positive way. I suspect, when it comes right down to it, most people would feel better with that choice. And then you just remain open to how to implement it. There are all kinds of options, lots of free choice there. And that kind of life is so much more interesting than just hanging out in front of the TV with a snack in my hand! It also helps when you see the negative things happening in the world. You are balancing the playing field with your small acts of kindness.