Sunday, November 20, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Don't be afraid
Fear is something that has been embedded in all of us since we were wee ones. Whether it is be to be afraid of hurting ourselves, afraid of taking risks all the way to being afraid of authority.
I suggest that we take some time to reflect on our fears and the validity of them. Are our fears valid?? Emotions can tell us alot about our situations and it is extremely important to recognize them, but also important that we do not allow them to control us.
I bet that in anayzing our fears, we will realize that most of them are not real fears, they are fears that have been pushed upon us from our parents, friends, media, government etc...
An example would be a fear that I was carrying with me for a long time. I felt so scared to express my authentic self and that I would not be accepted in doing so. This fear was instilled in me from childhood. I was taught that I needed to fit into this societal box or would not be accepted. This was taught to me by my mom who would put me down everytime i tried to express myself, by my teachers who would call me stupid for not learning things the only way they knew how to teach and also from my peers who would make fun of anyone who was "different" from them, and this especially came from the media!
When I came to the realization I was harbouring all of these thoughts of being unaccepted and not being able to express myself, I stopped and asked "is this true, am I really not accepted? Am I really unable to express myself?" Almost instantly the answer came. "absolutely not! I have every strength and every right to express my authentic self. And when I do that I am supported and valued! And even if a few people dont support me, that is ok, because when I express myself, I am supported to the depths of my soul and that trumps anyones opinion!"
How empowering it was to recognize that I could release the fear that was essentially holding me back from my own potential!
Something else came up for me in this recognition. Some resentment to those who helped instill that fear in me. As I pondered this feeling, it quickly dissipated and became more of a feeling of empathy.
Those people were only reacting to their fear, to the same fear that they pushed upon me! So, where did their fear come from? From others as well, I could only assume.
So, from there I was left digging deeper and deeper to try and figure out when did this instillment of fear begin. I think this goes way beyond my time, but starts with someone who was thinking with greed and power, rather than with love and unity.
Where does this leave us now?
As I stated earlier, this leaves us at a point where we have to confront our fears. We must challenge them and really question their validity in our lives. We have to be willing to face the fears in order to get to the place of love and acceptance, of ourselves and of others.
We need to recognize our own strengths and the value our authenticity brings to our community and our world.
This goes to every individual, including individuals in our media and our government. I urge that not only as individuals do we learn to face our fears, and learn to express ourselves authentically, that we insist the the media and government expresses information in an authentic way. From a place of love and acceptance instead of a place of fear and greed. If we start to do this, our world will transform into an amazing place of diversity and expression.
It goes back to the ethic of care of people. When we act from a place of fear we can only harm ourselves and others. When we act from a place of love and empowerment, we can only do amazing things!
Please take the time to look deep within yourself. What are you afraid of? Inside of you there is only beauty and innocence. Yes, there is light and there is dark, but it is all pure and everyone has the strength to see it and accept it! I encourage you to recognize your own strength, your own voice and your own heart! Release the fear of sharing this with others and do what feels right and true in your life. No one can stop you, not your parents, not your friends and certainly not the media or the government!
Much Love,
Kym Chi
I suggest that we take some time to reflect on our fears and the validity of them. Are our fears valid?? Emotions can tell us alot about our situations and it is extremely important to recognize them, but also important that we do not allow them to control us.
I bet that in anayzing our fears, we will realize that most of them are not real fears, they are fears that have been pushed upon us from our parents, friends, media, government etc...
An example would be a fear that I was carrying with me for a long time. I felt so scared to express my authentic self and that I would not be accepted in doing so. This fear was instilled in me from childhood. I was taught that I needed to fit into this societal box or would not be accepted. This was taught to me by my mom who would put me down everytime i tried to express myself, by my teachers who would call me stupid for not learning things the only way they knew how to teach and also from my peers who would make fun of anyone who was "different" from them, and this especially came from the media!
When I came to the realization I was harbouring all of these thoughts of being unaccepted and not being able to express myself, I stopped and asked "is this true, am I really not accepted? Am I really unable to express myself?" Almost instantly the answer came. "absolutely not! I have every strength and every right to express my authentic self. And when I do that I am supported and valued! And even if a few people dont support me, that is ok, because when I express myself, I am supported to the depths of my soul and that trumps anyones opinion!"
How empowering it was to recognize that I could release the fear that was essentially holding me back from my own potential!
Something else came up for me in this recognition. Some resentment to those who helped instill that fear in me. As I pondered this feeling, it quickly dissipated and became more of a feeling of empathy.
Those people were only reacting to their fear, to the same fear that they pushed upon me! So, where did their fear come from? From others as well, I could only assume.
So, from there I was left digging deeper and deeper to try and figure out when did this instillment of fear begin. I think this goes way beyond my time, but starts with someone who was thinking with greed and power, rather than with love and unity.
Where does this leave us now?
As I stated earlier, this leaves us at a point where we have to confront our fears. We must challenge them and really question their validity in our lives. We have to be willing to face the fears in order to get to the place of love and acceptance, of ourselves and of others.
We need to recognize our own strengths and the value our authenticity brings to our community and our world.
This goes to every individual, including individuals in our media and our government. I urge that not only as individuals do we learn to face our fears, and learn to express ourselves authentically, that we insist the the media and government expresses information in an authentic way. From a place of love and acceptance instead of a place of fear and greed. If we start to do this, our world will transform into an amazing place of diversity and expression.
It goes back to the ethic of care of people. When we act from a place of fear we can only harm ourselves and others. When we act from a place of love and empowerment, we can only do amazing things!
Please take the time to look deep within yourself. What are you afraid of? Inside of you there is only beauty and innocence. Yes, there is light and there is dark, but it is all pure and everyone has the strength to see it and accept it! I encourage you to recognize your own strength, your own voice and your own heart! Release the fear of sharing this with others and do what feels right and true in your life. No one can stop you, not your parents, not your friends and certainly not the media or the government!
Much Love,
Kym Chi
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Solution #4 - Lead by example and share that example with others!
Often people in our society and in politics like to talk about how they want the world to look, but don't make an effort to live that life.
I propose that we be the change we want to see (thanks Ghandi, best quote ever!) and become living examples of how we want our lives to be. This is easier said than done. In order for us to do this, it will take personal sacrifice, and a lot of will. A simple example of this would be that I want more gardens in Calgary, so I help to build more. I preach about loving yourself, and so I do the best to love myself. I don't like waste, so I compost, reuse and recycle when ever possible. These may seem like small things, but they do make a difference. Now, what about the big ones? Like changing our economic system? At this time I do not see it possible to live completely without money, but I would eventually love to see a moneyless or almost moneyless economy. Although I don't see how I can completely live with out money at this moment, I am taking steps towards this by introducing barters and trades and taking part in gift circles, also finding ways not to spend money by owning less material items or finding items that would other wise be tossed away and using them. It isn't always easy to make these choices, but I want to see the change. Although I am far from perfect and I am sure sometimes contribute to the current problems, I am trying damn hard not to. I know all of you can try too and I know you will all succeed, even if it isn't perfect right away! I can tell you right now, it will not happen over night, but it also wont happen if we just talk about it, or keep the examples tucked away in our little communities.
Something really interesting that has happened at the occupation in Calgary (and I am sure at the other occupations) is that we have been able to create an amazing example of what we want our community to be like. A community of openness, respect, care, love and acceptance. The next step is just to bring this to the people and show them what our community can really be, what our world can really be!
Please please please, start living the life you want, it may be hard to see how this can be done, but start with the baby steps and work your way up the ladder to your vision. Then share this with the world around you! Let people know that even the smallest steps and examples can help us to become a better world through living the life we want to see. The sacrifices might seem hard sometimes, but once you have made them, it becomes easier and easier as you can see your life become more and more like the one you dream of.
We all want a better world, now go out there and get it!
I propose that we be the change we want to see (thanks Ghandi, best quote ever!) and become living examples of how we want our lives to be. This is easier said than done. In order for us to do this, it will take personal sacrifice, and a lot of will. A simple example of this would be that I want more gardens in Calgary, so I help to build more. I preach about loving yourself, and so I do the best to love myself. I don't like waste, so I compost, reuse and recycle when ever possible. These may seem like small things, but they do make a difference. Now, what about the big ones? Like changing our economic system? At this time I do not see it possible to live completely without money, but I would eventually love to see a moneyless or almost moneyless economy. Although I don't see how I can completely live with out money at this moment, I am taking steps towards this by introducing barters and trades and taking part in gift circles, also finding ways not to spend money by owning less material items or finding items that would other wise be tossed away and using them. It isn't always easy to make these choices, but I want to see the change. Although I am far from perfect and I am sure sometimes contribute to the current problems, I am trying damn hard not to. I know all of you can try too and I know you will all succeed, even if it isn't perfect right away! I can tell you right now, it will not happen over night, but it also wont happen if we just talk about it, or keep the examples tucked away in our little communities.
Something really interesting that has happened at the occupation in Calgary (and I am sure at the other occupations) is that we have been able to create an amazing example of what we want our community to be like. A community of openness, respect, care, love and acceptance. The next step is just to bring this to the people and show them what our community can really be, what our world can really be!
Please please please, start living the life you want, it may be hard to see how this can be done, but start with the baby steps and work your way up the ladder to your vision. Then share this with the world around you! Let people know that even the smallest steps and examples can help us to become a better world through living the life we want to see. The sacrifices might seem hard sometimes, but once you have made them, it becomes easier and easier as you can see your life become more and more like the one you dream of.
We all want a better world, now go out there and get it!
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