I Said, “That is not MY Future”

How we can feel empowered with our mythic selves

 

So this happened when I was around 12 years old. I just watched the movie “Soylent Green” with my friend and her family. It was an early Armageddon-type movie, but the scene that hit me hard, really hard, was the one where the character Sol, the wise old sage played by Edward G. Robinson, was dying (a fate that he agreed to). If you’re not familiar with the scene you can watch it here. 

In this scene, as he lays dying, he watches a large screen with images of nature – the sunset, birds flying, deer grazing, butterflies – you get it. And he was amazed. He had never seen anything so precious and beautiful during his long, dystopian life.

That hit me. It hit me hard. It brought tears to my eyes and burst my heart open. Wide open.

And then I said it.

I’m not sure if I spoke it out loud or only to my inner self. But I said:

“THAT is not MY future.”

And I said it with conviction, courage, and a truth that was beyond my years. I will never forget it.

Even when I watch the scene now, tears fill my eyes. And that is good.

Looking at where we are, in this time of the early 21st century, we are in mythological period…where themes, climate, and people are larger than life.

But what we have to remember is, we are also, in a sense, larger than life. We are mythic, too.

I’m realizing, at nearly 60 years old (later this month), that I am mythic. That I have a personal mythology that extends back to my childhood and includes this statement I made all those years ago.

I can trace this mythic themes throughout my life, that have woven and intricately, subtly, softly, led me to where I am today. That I have followed, sometimes, the less traveled road.

The road that, in the past, few followed, but more have turned onto it than ever before. And you are undoubtedly one of those that followed that smaller fork in the road, either your choice of career, lifestyle, activism, or just choosing to be who you authentically are!

When we step into our authenticity – or at least start in that direction – the Universe, the Divine Source, the “management above” (what one of my colleagues calls it) – smiles, and sends us people, experiences, messages that are sometimes encoded, but often their meaning is very clear.

In meditation this morning, I was attempting, as always, to still my mind, but I kept coming up with messages to write in this post.

What I know to be true is that we are in this time of Great Shift (a term coined by ecopsychologist Joanna Macy) and in this time, we are required to SHIFT ourselves. Everything needs to shift maybe one degree over. We, as a species, are out of alignment.

When we are out of alignment, the Earth is out of alignment. It isn’t vice versa. We are the ones that are creating the imbalance, not the other way around.

So huge wildfires that could encompass a state, persistent droughts, killing heat waves, flooding, and storms. These are all a reflection of extremeness. Because we are in extremeness.

How do we respond?

We can easily go into a pit of overwhelm, anxiety, extreme stress, and grief. But that doesn’t feel so great. So, we step back from that pit and chose one of the other options that we see: denial or distraction. And yes, I sometimes chose them, as well.

We may reason that the Earth has been around for millions of years and these cycles are natural (this, in part, is true).

We may turn to things that entertain or give us pleasure, such as shopping, television, tiktok videos, or other addictions. These behaviors numb us and make us feel lighter again, but just temporarily.

So, I wonder, how do I manage this period of crisis? I continue to strive to reduce, recycle, reuse. I vote for who I believe has the best sensibility for our times. I volunteer and am on the board of directors for a local nature center. I continue to strive to be the best person that I can be.

So with the spirit of that wisdom, I ponder, what if we SHIFT our mindset?

But how should I be? What about my energy? What am I projecting outward?

According to Einstein, we cannot hope to fix a problem with the same mindset that created the problem.

So with the spirit of that wisdom, I ponder, what if we SHIFT our mindset?

What if, in addition to all the things we can do (like I mentioned above), we feel in our hearts our connection to this Earth? Could it be as simple as that?

How do we do that…feel our connection to nature in our hearts?

Quite simply, we can go outside (you can do this inside, but it’s always easier to be in nature)

Look, really look at the land, the wildlife, the tress and flowers, the mountains and rivers. I mean, really see them with all of your senses.  Observe with your heart, not just your eyes, or your mind. SEE IT. FEEL IT.

And then, express your gratitude. This can be very simple. You can say thank you out loud or in your heart. You can imagine that you are embracing the entire landscape in your arms (I love that one). You can do something to care for the land or it’s any of its beings and nature spirits, in a conscious way. You can give a simple offering to the land.

I am feeling more convinced, day by day, that if we only stop to acknowledge nature and her beings, observe in our hearts, and honor, we will create a HUGE SHIFT.

As energy workers, we know that vibrations are simple to change – a shift in perspective is all it takes. (My favorite quote by Wayne Dyer: “If you change the way you look at things, the things  you look at change.”

Doing this will not avoid the overwhelm from time to time, the occasional denial or desire to distract, but it gives us a place to step into this Great Shift that will lead us forward into a future that I (and perhaps we) have felt in our hearts all along.