Newsletter Articles written by Tera Thomas
Issue 21
Are We Awake Yet?
by Tera Thomas
What a year this has been. We have been pushed, pulled, squeezed, expanded, battered, bruised, exalted, opened, and hopefully woken up. It does not take a genius or a prophet to tell us that we have gone too far in the abuse of the earth, in the disregard of natural laws, in our flagrant anthropocentric viewpoint, in our complete separation from each other and all living beings that share this planet.
I have felt the natural disasters coming and thought I was well prepared. I saw myself in a space of calm and balance, radiating love. I forgot that I am still human, that I am connected to this planet and to everyone who lives here so what happens to others happens to me. I was not prepared for the emotional upheaval I experienced when I saw the pictures after Katrina. I felt devastated, overwhelmed, and completely helpless. I could not stop crying. I hurt for the people, for the animals, for the lack of response from some sectors and for the amazing response from others. I had my own emotional hurricane and I could not control it. Why did it seem that there was nothing I could do to change it? I wanted to fix it, to make everyone stop hurting, to wave a magic love wand and make everybody happy.
We are emotional beings and we experience the world through our feelings. In our culture we have made certain emotions taboo. We have been taught that it is not okay to feel angry or sad, we are supposed to be happy. That is the dream, the fairy tale—to live happily ever after. But life is messy, it begs us to experience the full spectrum of our emotions.
I have learned more about myself, the earth, and the path of consciousness from animals than from any other source. I watch them constantly and am inspired by their openness, and the pure truth that is the way they live their lives. When an animal experiences anger, it rises up like a fire and it is quickly over. When animals are sad they grieve; when they are tired they rest; when they are happy they celebrate. We humans try to control our emotions so that we are often not even experiencing them, we are stuffing them.
I sat in the pasture with the goats and llamas and allowed all my feelings to wash over me. I opened up and allowed my friends to fill my heart with peace. My sadness was not gone but I felt that my core was in a space of balance and love. The emotional hurricane was the weather, the ever changing atmosphere that surrounds my being. I experience the storms but they are not who I am. Who I am is that still space that is connected to all beings and that is always in balance and love and it is from this space that I can be useful.
I realized that one of the ways I could help was by actually feeling the storms and not shutting out those emotions. The emotions are part of what connects us to each other; feelings are the universal language. I could also feel the core of peace in me and help to ground that peace into the Earth. I felt my anger at the uncaring things said and done by many officials. I let it move through me, up and out. I felt the horror, the shock, the grief those caught in the storm were experiencing and let it move through me. I felt the deep commitment and compassion of so many people who stopped their own lives to help in any way they could. We are connected to everything, to all of it. All of it is us.
I feel more than ever the importance of waking up, of being in connection rather than separation, of embracing others, of inclusion instead of exclusion. We must share ourselves with others in whatever way we can. When we feel a draw to something or someone, we are obligated to give back, to do something other than stuff it and go numb. It is time to stop thinking about how much we need for ourselves and begin to think bigger. We have made our lives small and isolated, it is time to expand ourselves and recognize that if we take care of our planet, if we take care of each other, then we are taking care of ourselves as well.
Not all of us can hop on a plane to go where physical help is needed. We don’t all have a million dollars to give. But we all have something to give, something to share. I assessed the situation to see what I could do to help. I could afford to send $25, in itself a small amount but when added to all of the $25 donations that others sent it could make a huge difference. I can also send prayers to the people and animals directly affected by the storms. I can send prayers to the whole earth. I can send love and healing energy to the water and the land. I can continue to open my heart to a deeper connection with all beings and rededicate myself to living my life in conscious connection. I can stop being annoyed by differences of opinion and look for the place of connection rather than separation. I can find a way to ready the empty pasture on this land for animals in need. I can commit myself more deeply to Hummingbird Farm and the path that we are making. I can remember each and every day that we are in this together, that it is my responsibility to wake up and recognize my part in everything that happens.
What is your dream? What is important to you? How have you supported your neighbors, your country, your world? We are all one, it is not just a saying. What we do, what we think, what we feel, affects all of us. It’s time to put our energy where our heart is.
I hold in my heart the vision of a planet where all beings recognize their kinship, where all species are honored for their unique expression. “Wake up! Wake up!” the Earth is shouting to us. The alarm has been going off for a long time and we cannot hit the snooze button again. How many disasters does it take to wake us up? I have had enough.
