Happy Friday Folks!
I hope that you have all had a great week, even though it seems like every day something else terrible is happening in the world. And to be honest, yeah, things aren't great right now. For a lot of people they are much worse than not great right now; and it would be ignorant to ignore that suffering.
But just as there is so much bad in the world, there is also so, so much more good. I was watch a video today about an all volunteer group that saved a town by donating their time and resources to cutting fire lines around their livelihoods. These are just regular people, who in a time of need stepped up and did their part.
History is filled with stories of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in times of danger; it is one of the reasons why as a society we respect our veterans and fallen as much as we do. They were the ones who stepped up, and now through the many dangers that face our nation, there is a new generation of heroes who are stepping up.
There is a saying that you know who the helpers are, because they are the ones who run towards a disaster. These are our health care professionals, educators, fire and police officers, peaceful protesters - and more importantly the countless unnamed and unrecognized local volunteers and random passerby's who lend assistance.
As much as we want to always count on there being helpers, and as much as I wholly believe there will always be helpers, we cannot count on that. We, as individuals, need to be part of this new generation of helpers. Those who give what we can to those in pain around us, even if it is just our time - most importantly if it is our time.
However, just as like in an airplane emergency, to truly be able to help others, you need to make sure your oxygen mask is on first. We need to make sure that we are the best versions of ourselves, so that we can help others to become their best too. As we rise, we pick each other up, and we rise together - to far higher heights than would ever be possible alone.
So how do we do this? How do we put on the oxygen mask as it feels like the world is nosediving? By focusing on being whole.
Being Whole
What does it mean to be wholistic? Or holistic if you want to have the whole wholistic v holistic debate (ha, see what I did there?). Well it means to be complete. To be fully aware, fully tuned in. Not just seeing the tragedies, but seeing the helpers; and it also means to be healthy in all areas of your life.
The first video game series I really got into was the Legend Of Zelda (after Mario & Pokemon), and the Triforce was my first tattoo. In the game, the Triforce symbolizes Power, Wisdom & Courage, and bringing these three pieces together was the key to unlocking immense power. Since most forms of art are representations and reflections of cultural ideologies and paradigms, it is not surprising to find that these three concepts have far deeper philosophical meaning.
In spiritual tradition, we are taught the holy trinity, and again this is no surprise to see the repetition of a key foundation of three parts of wholistic existence. Body, Mind & Spirit. These are the three keys to our three dimensional existence (although we are fourth dimensional existing on the plane of time - wrap your head around that one!), and mastering these allows us to unlock our full potential.
We need to take care of the body, by exercising regularly and eating the right way. We need to take care of our minds by meditating/relaxing and having positive affirmative thoughts. And we need to take care of our spirits by setting goals and creating the habits and discipline to follow through and achieve our visions.
Final Thoughts
Especially now, it is so important to invest the time in yourself to put that oxygen mask on. We are no help to others or especially ourselves if we are not able to be wholly healthy - at least as much as we can be. Because that is a start, and sometimes a start is all that we need.
Thank you for your time reading this! I hope that you are happy and well! Please consider hitting that heart button if you liked the article and consider sharing it with anyone it would help! Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!