The Gulf Oil Spill - An Opportunity to Heal

The Gulf Oil Spill is a terrible disaster and it breaks my heart when i think of the destruction and terrible waste, and i am sure you all feel the same.  I have refrained from talking about it thus far, for the simple reason that i wanted to see how people would react.  Global reaction is very important, when faced with these terrible events.  It gives us the opportunity to vent our spleen and take action on areas that we feel are important.  Sometimes however that reaction is quite the opposite of what it should be.

In recent history there have been numerous events which have caused us to look at things with a fresh view, and hopefully make a decision about how we feel and what we may do about it.  Very often though we don't actually make a decision, we just flow from one emotion to the next, naturally and quite reasonably, feeling what many many people feel when faced with these types of events.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 there was an outpouring of love. Love for those who risked their lives to tackle the Terrorists, Love for those who suffered and died, and probably more prominently Love for those brave men and women who risked everything to help those trapped and in danger when it would have been far safer to stay indoors and hide away.  "no greater love hath no man".

Sadly however as time passed and the true nature of the events unfolded, the world polarised.  Suspicion became fear and hate, the west joined forces in the "coalition of the willing" and although the enemy were few in number the suffering continues and those affected number in the the hundreds of thousands.  The butterfly effect has left no one on this planet untouched by the emotions and feelings of 9/11's aftermath. Mostly those feelings are suspicion and hate, with Muslim finding solace in Muslim where they would not have previously.  Iran has found new allies in its Sunni neighbours.  We in the west feel suspicion rightly or wrongly and worry whenever we see the trademark signs of Islam.

This reaction is not our reaction.  Think about it slowly and calmly.  The west is not at war with Islam, it never has been.  The west went to war with a handful of men and women who wanted nothing but destruction.  The vast majority of Muslims are good people they are just like you or I.  But events and reactions have polarised our view, and made Muslim synonymous with terrorist and that's not correct.  Equally Muslims are now in fear of that response and so have polarised into their own safety net and aligned with other Muslims. 

New Orleans may seem like a distant memory, but the story there is similar.  Outpouring of love after the initial terrible event,  people doing utterly amazing things to assist each other in their time of need.  Slowly stories started to slip out of the danger zone, which highlighted the danger that survivors faced daily, not just from the effects of the flood but from lawlessness.  I was utterly staggered when i read of the rapes, murders and serious assaults which took place inside the refugee collection centre.  I could not believe these things happened in full view of everyone.  People huddled together on the floor of the stadium, and gangs marauded through the crowds.  "Evil prospers when good men do nothing"  I am pretty certain if everyone stood united against the gangs then this suffering may have been averted, but people polarised. "Look after your own" "Its not happening to me this time".

I am actually getting quite emotional as i write this.

We should learn from our past mistakes. The Oil spill in the gulf could easily unfold in so many ways.  But the future is not yet written.  You write your future every day, so start writing now.  Start by looking at your reactions, think about what you feel.  It is ok to feel what ever it is you feel. I urge you though to analyse your emotions.  Why do you feel this way? and then decide if it is truly your emotion or is it sponsored by CNN or some other media outlet.

My conclusions from self analysis is that i have some responsibility in all of this.  I have fed the petroleum machine for twenty years both by driving my car and buying goods which are dependant on petroleum for their production and delivery. In this day and age it is near impossible to live without some for of petroleum dependence.  BP is just one of the many companies who exploit this dependence.  So what am i doing about it.  Firstly i have written to BP and asked them to take responsibility and clean up without any action needing to be taken by any legal powers, it is their responsibility.  I have got rid of my car, and cycle or take public transport or hows this for a revolutionary idea, i walk.  I am now also looking at ways of raising money to help the efforts (which hopefully will become a sustainable process that i can help other causes as they arise).

When i have spoken in the past, about responsibility, the above is an example of what i mean.  It may not have been you who put the pick axe through the well head.  But the well head was there because of me. 

Every aspect of our lives both big and small are made up of actions and reactions, and one of the biggest hurdles in our clearing and healing journey of ascension is to look at things differently.  From a different perspective.  A different consciousness level.  It is a lot of work on the self, but slowly over time it will become habitual, and you will free yourself from the shackles of nature and nurture in our consciousness. we will be fresh and unique once more. "we will come like a babe in arms" and accelerated our journey toward ascension.

Every action you take has an impact both locally and globally, in changing yourself you are changing the world.

Bless you, and take strength on your journey.