7 Tips to Maintain our Center in a Challenging Environment
God created a perfect Universe. In perfection, there is always balance and symmetry. Symmetry exists in biology, math, geometry, physics, art, the animal kingdom, and literally all of life. "Symmetry is also prevalent in the physical sciences and is woven into the very laws that govern our universe”. - Ker Than at livescience.com.
The point I’m making here is that symmetry is balance. Balance brings a feeling of normalcy to us all. When things start feeling off balance, it affects us all in ways that many of us cannot explain. We just know that something is 'off' and it doesn’t feel right. We start feeling off balance even if we don’t recognize that we feel that way. For those that live on the cusp of sanity, it may push them over the edge and propel them to commit unspeakable acts. Many of us start developing emotional issues that interfere with our daily routines, including our work and social lives. Bottom line, things do not feel normal.
Life became obviously unbalanced for most of us beginning in 2020 with the reaction to the pandemic. But, the pandemic in 2020 was only the beginning of the signs of the imbalance. The imbalance started several years ago and festered unnoticed until the pandemic and the division it created rose to the surface.
Since the early 1980’s, corporate America has slowly taken over our country. Psychopaths have manipulated their way to positions of power in business, government and politics, and even in religion. Power hungry, greedy, twisted minds have sought out power for their own personal gain, and they are able to get away with it because the public persona that they display disguises the dark energy that they are, and they are capable of turning huge profits at any cost, so that the greed of those that allow these people to continue to operate lets the psychopath continue on unchecked.
I first noticed this behavior in the early 1990’s. I owned a vending company that I started during a recession in the 1980’s. I watched businesses reduce their workforces out of necessity during the recession. But times improved and growth had these businesses hiring people back. In December one year, I walked into a client office that I had watched experience very healthy growth only to find the office half full. I asked my contact what happened and she told me that they laid off half the workforce December 1st. She explained that everyone left was required to do the work now of 2 people….. without benefit of a raise for the added responsibility. At that moment, I could feel the greed of the CEO of the company. He was very close to triggering a huge bonus (millions of dollars) for himself, so to ensure he got that bonus, he laid off half the work force for his own personal gain. It didn’t matter to him that it was close to year end, and the idled employees had bills to pay and the holidays were approaching. It didn’t matter to the board of the company because after all, they profit from the layoff as well.
I admit that this type of behavior has existed in business since large businesses started forming at the beginning of the Industrial Age. It is this type of behavior that created the need for unions. Back in the day, unions created the balance for the psychopathic corporate greed. Congress has always reacted slowly, but as corporate atrocities like abusive child labor policies or dangerous work environments (search for horrible conditions in meat packing plants in the early 1900’s) were exposed, laws were passed that reeled in the abuses that the modern worker of the time endured. But now, corporate America pays numerous lobbyists to wine, dine, and incentivize our congress and senators to pass laws that favor the the corporations that pull money out of our pockets and put it in theirs, though they have not performed any additional service for us.
Anyone that grew up in the 1990’s, or before, remembers how stable gasoline prices were before it was placed on the futures market. At that time gasoline pricing was based on the price of oil. There were were no investors artificially driving the price up because a refinery shut down for maintenance. Today, because of electronic trading and 24/7 news, the price of gasoline is volatile because investors artificially drive the prices up by buying futures at any news about a production issue. They never touch a gallon of gasoline, yet the higher prices you pay goes into their pocket.
When did a wreck start staying on our record for 5 years instead of 3 years so that insurance companies can charge us more for insurance? Why was that change needed, or even allowed? Why do we not get a discount from insurance companies if we drive for 3, 5, or even 15 years without filing a claim? The law of balances says that should occur. Why are pharmaceutical drugs so expensive? In a compassionate society, is it fair to have one’s quality of life determined by a company that profits from our lack of health? Where do affordability and profitability meet? When is it truly in balance? I can’t answer that question, but I do know it is out of balance.
I want to say right now, that I am not anti profit, and not all business leaders are psychopaths. I know that businesses must have profit to grow and continue to operate. I also want to say that I am a-political. I am neither conservative nor liberal. I don’t blindly trust any politician or government bureaucrat, regardless of their party affiliation. I do believe that very few of our elected officials on any level are without a personal agenda from which they may profit. However, having said that, is there a moral limit to the profitability that a company should generate? How much is enough? For some, they will never have enough, and they will find ways to take the money from those that don’t feel that way. These are the people that are throwing life out of balance, and in the U. S. A., we worship them like they are someone to be idolized.
When a psychopath takes over a corporation, there is no moral compass that guides the company anymore, and things become unbalanced. These are the companies that pollute our air, streams, rivers, and oceans. These are the companies that underpay their employees (Hello, WalMart), yet the owners are some of the richest people in the world. These are the companies that set themselves up by pulling a monthly or annual stipend out of our bank account, and then raising that stipend after showing a $60 billion profit the previous quarter ( Sound familiar Amazon?).
This imbalance is not limited to business. Since the 1970’s great strides have been achieved around acceptance of those that don’t look, act, feel, or think as we do. Though racism is not cured, we are progressing and we will continue to progress. Acceptance of others whose sexuality doesn’t align with our own is healing and improving. We realize that sexuality is not something we choose, and that everyone deserves to be loved. Most now realize that the sexes are equal too, and often the best 'Man' for the job is a Woman.
Many are aware that the things we were taught when we were growing up, may not be exactly as we were told. This realization has taught us to be more compassionate, non-judgmental, and to love everyone unconditionally. In a nutshell, we are living our lives as Jesus taught us, without judging anyone. Psychopaths can find their way into religion too, and today we are seeing extremists trying to force their will and power on others by getting restrictions placed on laws that have long been passed. They are also threatening to look at laws that have only recently been passed as well, like same sex marriage.
These are intelligent people that have figured out ways to manipulate the laws so that it serves their desire to control others. If they truly were 'pro-life', that would also mean that they are against the death penalty, because being 'pro-life' is unconditional. One cannot authentically pick and choose portions of the 'Commandments' they say they live by without being a hypocrite. Hypocrisy in itself creates imbalance because of of the duality in the thought process. Yet, those that are forcing their will on others in this manner are blind to what they’re doing, and instead of just saying, “I’m not going to get an abortion.”, they feel the need to restrict everyone else from having one too, regardless of the circumstances. Likewise, they support the death penalty as viable punishment for crimes committed without much regard for those that were wrongly convicted and may die for a crime they did not commit. This is clearly out of balance, and many of us know and feel it.
I feel like many of the reasons so many of us are feeling off center is because of the daily imbalances we are exposed to. So what can we do to remain centered? How do we deal with these unhealthy people who threaten our peace? How can we bring the imbalance back to center?
There are several things we can do, and much of it is very easy and requires little of our time. The FIRST thing we must do, even though this may feel counter-intuitive, is to love everyone unconditionally. We must exhibit the behavior we desire to receive. We also must remain non-judgmental to those that are trying to take control of our lives and our money. However, neither of these requires that we roll over and 'play dead'. Loving unconditionally does not mean that we don't set healthy boundaries, for we must do that to protect ourselves. SECOND, what we do is become conscientious shoppers by making a concerted effort to quit shopping in places that are not working towards a harmonious existence with their employees, their customers, the environment, and Mother Earth. You can feel the vibe of a place when you walk in. Pay attention to that feeling. You’ll know whether you should be there or not. Researching how employees are treated at a particular company will speak volumes as to the mindset of management and how well they take care of their employees, and their environment.
THIRD action to take to bring center back to our lives is when we wake up in the morning, let’s focus on and give thanks for, all the good things going on in our life, especially the little things. FOURTH, spend at least 5 minutes a day in quiet solitude and meditation. 20 minutes would be better, but do take at least 5 minutes. FIFTH, spend at least 5 minutes outside in nature observing with no electronics. Again, 20 would be better, but combining 4 & 5 into a 10 minute session works very well if our time is that tight. And SIXTH, start looking for political candidates that are not names you’ve been hearing forever. Maybe consider running for office yourself. Most importantly, stop voting the same way you always have just because it’s comfortable. Look for that gem that can make a difference.
And finally SEVENTH, pay this forward. Share these thoughts with your friends. Tell them what you’re doing to help bring balance back in your life and in your environment. Let’s get everyone to get motivated to bring about a Loving, Compassionate, non-judgmental society that spreads Love and Light instead of pulling our energy down. We all deserve to live in that Place.
Stay safe and in the Light!
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
GB