Lately I have been pondering : how can I be a useful Activist without losing the necessary Lightness of being that goes with Life’s harmonious flow ?
Because of course, there are causes out there in the world, that I’d like to help with. There is precious information (the kind you don’t ever see on CNN, the one that rarely ever make it anywhere in the mainstream …) that I do want to pass along. Not beliefs, not propaganda, not extrapolations… Just good solid info. And sometimes, even more interesting, several pieces of info put together… because then, like pieces of a puzzle game, they give you something a lot more significant than each part could.
Some people do that very well, and they bring forth amazing data, mind boggling reports, outrageous documents… thanks to them, somehow, despite the absolute inane stream of disinformation fed to us by all main media, this invaluable information reaches some of us, who are wanting to actually look closer…and deeper…
And I am telling you: some of that is so far gone and so unfathomable for a reasonably decent human being, that some days, I would prefer not to know. But then, I do. So, where do I go from there ?
Because you see, I don’t want to add anger or despair or rage to all the heaviness already in place. I made the choice as an Artist, a long time ago, to use my energy, my time and my artistry to increase the level of comfort, peace, and joy, in my fellow humans.
I actually do believe that adding rage to an outrageous situation is not going to fix it. I do believe that more of the same is not going to make a difference. I do defend the idea that giving tools for people to take educated decisions is more important than keeping them on their toes with drama. I have in me the absolute certainty that as a species we have the capacity to evolve and return to a more respectful and integrated place on the living wonder that is planet Earth… not only the capacity, but the need, the choice and the necessity, to do just so.
We are a lot of people on Earth at this time. And looking at the pictures of protests in the streets of America, about the 99% versus the 1%, a few months ago, I could not help but being aware that being in the 99% here is still being among the very privileged compared with most of the world ! Perspective is everything…
Then, there is the whole debate about health care and the billions of dollars spent on so many different ailments, that we could, for a fraction of the cost, avoid in the first place, by applying prevention… But wait ! Prevention, as a matter of fact, relies on better information, better understanding, better choices, and brings better quality of life, as well as more clarity. Of course, when one is healthy, one has more faculties to think and observe, therefore one is ultimately more free.
As a matter of fact, and it has been demonstrated by scientists, doctors, nutritionists and all kinds of people, you can prevent and even cure a full lot of diseases and discomforts simply by using fresh organic food, in reasonable amounts, having some physical exercise and a joyful mental attitude. It seems too good to be true, but when applied, this regimen permits most people to get back to health and emotional balance… That has been observed and documented on slews of animals as well as people. In parallel to this, organic agriculture respects and restores vital balance and sustainability at both micro and macro levels. Which means basically, that when we treat our planet right we also keep ourselves in good shape…
People like Max Gerson have saved a lot of people to whom doctors had given a few months left to live. His method/diet still works today. And there are no drugs involved in the process. (Watch “The beautiful truth” for free and learn about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv4b6IzLTes&feature=fvwrel). Most MDs do not apply to themselves the chemo treatments and protocols they keep administrating to their patients. Why ? Because they know it only rarely works.
As a matter of fact, the food industry, which is the over all biggest market on the planet is also what can keep us healthy or ruin our bodies as well as our entire environment. It is the one domain that touches everyone everywhere and can make or break our quality of life. It becomes then fascinating to add a few pieces of information that nobody can deny such as: the 8 biggest producers of GMO food are the same 8 biggest pesticides producers and…the 8 biggest pharmaceuticals producers.
There is a thread going through all of these pieces of information. If and when one really want to think about it, one becomes more likely to be wary of all political maneuvers permitting and increasing the power of these 8 giant criminally insane poison makers.
Examples are numerous and I could go for ever in the same vein, but it’s not necessary here.
The point is, thanks to some good encounters, and clear information I came across early in my life, I have been using prevention, alternative medicine and advocating for clean and respectful agriculture since my twenties. I remember at the time I was terribly angry at the kind of people who took the liberty to slash, burn and poison my world, without my agreement, jeopardizing the whole ecosystem and threatening my very life with the most oblivious attitude toward any kind of respect for any form of life, including their own spawn. I was boiling with outrage, demonstrating bitterly to people why we had to mobilize and act and do it now…
But as I said, eventually I realized that my anger could only add to what was already bitter and sick… and would not fix any of it.
So, what to do ? Stand on my soap box and keep the fire of my activism fueled by my indignation ? Turn my back on the whole disaster and make a comfortable nest for myself as sheltered as possible from the madness riding most anything mainstream ? Drink myself to oblivion ? Take drugs ? Travel to a remote place in the wilderness and settle out of reach ?
Of course every now and then, every one of these options might have felt temporarily appropriate. But step by step, I came to understanding that there was a better way, a wise part of me was watching and looking for balance. The right books, people and situations kept helping me on my path toward inner balance. Because no matter what I want to bring to this world, I have to experience it, to incarnate it, to live up to it first… It takes a lot of self love and love for the Universe, for Life itself, and for what really makes us humans in the noble sense of the word, but it all starts with one’s own attitude and choices.
If there is a way out of this organized madness sustained by warmongers, drugs makers and seeds modifiers, it is a way that will involve a gigantic amount of harmony, respect, care, awe, decency and love… It is a way that represents a tremendous desire to bear witness without hatred, to spread information only to permit choices, to show by example rather than trying to manipulate or convince.
So, I keep being an activist by feeding awareness and offering opportunities to take action (and there is no action to small), I put my money where my heart is. I also make sure every day that I focus more on what I wish to see happen than on what I want to eradicate. I keep reminding myself that we are all co-creators of what is around us. I make sure to get support and wisdom from people who inspire me and walk their talk. I engage with people of all kinds, I do my best to find more things to share than to denigrate. Even the real people involved in the heartless corporations I mentioned earlier, are worth of compassion when we find a way to disempower them. I don’t want to condone their actions, but I want to cultivate enough peace in my heart to be able to wish them transformed rather than punished.
Being an Artist is a blessing for that it really gives me a powerful tool to largely access the world and be able to have an impact, no matter how small, an impact never the less. I figure that if I use my artistry to bring some solace, some glee, some kind of relief from the madness and the busyness and the hammering of media…I might have a chance to trigger something essential, something vital, some kind of natural compass meant to steer us in the flow of bountiful life and expending consciousness…. at least if I trigger that in myself while I paint, and do no harm when I show… it’s OK. If I succeed in triggering it in others… it’s a way to be a seed of change.
More later…
