I’ve been told that this year would have everything to do with power; that the world as a whole would grapple with the notion of what it means to have power or to be powerful. While I don’t believe everything I’m told, looking around, the evidence does seem to fit the theory. I actually find it a helpful explanation—and a strangely reassuring one at that—for the collective temper tantrum that seems to be being thrown by, one would surmise, every single one of the institutions of the world traditionally seen as emblems of external power. Going into detail doesn’t seem necessary, I’m sure you know of several if not many examples of such meltdowns and how they’re taking place; at the close of the year, looking forward into the next, I’m finding myself curious as to the why of it all.
My theory, and I don’t imagine this a particularly groundbreaking idea, is two-fold: firstly, that these institutions are simply part of an outdated system, made obsolete and being replaced by new ones (systems) taking its place. Understand I said new ones, not necessarily better ones, at least often times not initially. In the same way that, on the individual level, the millennial generation did away with a hefty bale of customs and conventions held dear and in place for fifty years by the baby boomers, so too is this happening on an institutional level by the upstart economic and political structures of the emerging post-2012 era. Unfortunately this breakdown sometimes involves no small amount of social devolution, but, as I’ve been told, and this time I believe it: there’s always a way up.
My theory, and I don’t imagine this a particularly groundbreaking idea, is two-fold: firstly, that these institutions are simply part of an outdated system, made obsolete and being replaced by new ones (systems) taking its place. Understand I said new ones, not necessarily better ones, at least often times not initially. In the same way that, on the individual level, the millennial generation did away with a hefty bale of customs and conventions held dear and in place for fifty years by the baby boomers, so too is this happening on an institutional level by the upstart economic and political structures of the emerging post-2012 era. Unfortunately this breakdown sometimes involves no small amount of social devolution, but, as I’ve been told, and this time I believe it: there’s always a way up.
Devolution: it’s not pretty. What? Oh, no, this guy's hilarious. Sorry, I was talking about the movie.
The question of whether these changes will be productive, and beneficial to us as a global society has, at least in the mind of this writer, much more to do with you and me than it has to do with any commander, preacher, or “make this country great”-chanting plutocrat, but more on that later. Another question, that of why this year was such a banner year for change in the form of both tragedy and moronic public behavior leads me to the second point, which is: it is possible some of the chaos we are seeing around us is the very grappling, on a macro-scale, of a world figuring itself out, going through a sort of pubescent process of defining what power means on a planetary level.
So, you might wonder as well you may, is this merely my long-winded way of saying: don’t worry, be happy? That we are merely bugs on a surface, caught in the wake of an immense moment of celestial transition, powerless to do anything about it? Well, I suppose letting go of anxiety and finding happiness are always good things, but really what I’m saying is the thing I’ve been saying to myself all year, which is: You matter. I matter. We all matter. We matter because, in the spirit of what this year is ostensibly about, we are the singular most powerful force on the planet. We are powerful because we are, all of us, creative beings. We can build and shape and sculpt our world, in our mind, ergo in reality, into any iteration of a planet inhabited by sentient beings that can possibly be imagined.
So, you might wonder as well you may, is this merely my long-winded way of saying: don’t worry, be happy? That we are merely bugs on a surface, caught in the wake of an immense moment of celestial transition, powerless to do anything about it? Well, I suppose letting go of anxiety and finding happiness are always good things, but really what I’m saying is the thing I’ve been saying to myself all year, which is: You matter. I matter. We all matter. We matter because, in the spirit of what this year is ostensibly about, we are the singular most powerful force on the planet. We are powerful because we are, all of us, creative beings. We can build and shape and sculpt our world, in our mind, ergo in reality, into any iteration of a planet inhabited by sentient beings that can possibly be imagined.
 |  |
Through the sheer force of our will we can do this, plus a buttload of perseverance and effort, granted, but still, it can be done, if we submit that it happen. I was told as a child: man proposes, God disposes. This is a steaming pile of nonsense, and a great way to give up your power, to rationalize complacency, to relinquish your responsibility for creating your own reality, all under the guise of pretending to seem zen and at peace with the universe. Bullspit. I say: 1) intend an outcome, 2) align yourself, if you wish, with whatever non-midichlorian based cosmic intelligence you desire, and 3) MAKE IT SO.
You matter. Somewhere down the line, this message gets lost. We’re not told it enough in our lives. Because, I suppose, we as a society don’t believe it enough (at least not yet). At some point in most of our lives we’re told to forget this notion, that we are indeed worth it, that we matter. So what happens: people who have forgotten to know this become parents. These parents forget to tell it to their kids. Those kids forget to know it. And the cycle continues.
Meanwhile there’s another branch of people, who believe the world revolves around them. And so sure are they in this belief that they convince us to believe it too. And we end up spending a lot of money and time enabling those people--egoists, narcissists, sociopaths; the people who have basically run the world for the past ten thousand years, maybe more--instead of nurturing our awesomeness within. These types have no truer sense of their worth than we do. Theirs is the previous definition of power, power as stature, influence derived through force or the threat of it: might makes right, as some say. And not only do they seek it, but oftentimes they get it, because in a world whose primary curriculum is that of inferiority, even stolen light can shine.
Meanwhile there’s another branch of people, who believe the world revolves around them. And so sure are they in this belief that they convince us to believe it too. And we end up spending a lot of money and time enabling those people--egoists, narcissists, sociopaths; the people who have basically run the world for the past ten thousand years, maybe more--instead of nurturing our awesomeness within. These types have no truer sense of their worth than we do. Theirs is the previous definition of power, power as stature, influence derived through force or the threat of it: might makes right, as some say. And not only do they seek it, but oftentimes they get it, because in a world whose primary curriculum is that of inferiority, even stolen light can shine.
In many ways we’re the lucky ones. Those types seek power from without, because they feel powerless within. In addition, so caught up are they in their own drama, I would posit they can’t see the actual important work they are doing, which is to expressly, by their actions, pose the big questions for us, you and me, to answer. When we see an idiot at a podium spouting bigoted vitriol, we are each given a valuable opportunity, to decide whether this is behavior that works for us, to decide whether we as individuals carry on with this or make a change. People drink the sand because they don’t know the difference, I’ve heard. But this isn’t the way anymore. It certainly doesn’t have to be. And the best part is, this is not about “taking back” anything. There is no conflict involved. Only personal responsibility. Only the simple act of seeing the light inside, and stepping in.
 Rex... |  Shepherd... |
okay, that one's a deep, deep track :)
I digress. The point: you matter. I have no clue who I’m even saying this to. I still to this day have no idea who reads this blog lol. That doesn't matter. Maybe I’m just saying it to myself. Maybe I’m saying it because that’s the world I see, the world I wish to, that I intend to, create. A world where people remember to look in the mirror and say to themselves: you matter. And maybe then they start to remember, or indeed to realize, that they have things they want to be, to do, things that make them tick, that make them feel more acutely who they are. And maybe they realize that the time to do these things is now. And maybe, one step at a time, they begin to do them. And maybe they have children, and these children see this. And maybe those children take it all in, and start to discover for themselves that living authentically, living courageously, is not a dream but a default, if you allow it to be.
And then, maybe, then THAT cycle continues. That’s a world I would love to live in.
And then, maybe, then THAT cycle continues. That’s a world I would love to live in.
We’re not bugs. We may be small on a cosmic scale, but we matter. What I think this year might be trying to tell us is that it’s time we start taking responsibility for all that we can be. It’s time to ignite our own power, that stuff that resides inside us that makes us do mortifyingly stupid things in the name of what we love, it’s time to set that force ablaze, in massive letters, lighting up the night sky, that read: You matter.
And while we’re doing that, maybe we find a means within to stop being slave to institutions that seek to rob us of our ability to make decisions, whether a corrupt global political circus-show the only goal of which is to train us against one another, or the group-hive-mind of a parochial tribal collective that asks us to settle for less than the best we can be... and that’s about as far as I’ll go on that.
Always what is more salient to me is the change we make, the light we unlock, within. And if this is indeed a power year, then we’ve probably all been making some form of change, possibly without even knowing it, quietly, but no less significantly, for the last twelve months. Embrace it. Embrace the power of all that you are. You matter. You matter. You matter.
Wishing you a kick-ass start to 2016...
Now go be awesome!
-AF
Tagged: #empowerment #self-love #self-worth #self-acceptance #connection #inspiration #perseverance #innerpower #manifestation #creativity #action #impact #architecture #HappyNewYear #LordOfTheRings #SuperMarioBrosMovie #StarTrekTNG #GeneralZod #RexHarrison #AndyShepherd #AmericanPresidentMovie #MassEffect
Enjoy! -AF
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