If I were to go out and ask people from all walks of life to describe the archetype of "victim" to me, I can almost guarantee that I would get a similar response. What do you think of when you hear the word "victim?" Chances are that you think of people who have experienced events and circumstances that rendered them feeling powerless, even if only temporarily. Furthermore, you may acknowledge that at some point or another in life, we have all had the feeling of being victims of something - only the specific content and the intensity of our experiences vary as well as how long we choose to remain in that role. Are you with me so far?
If you have been in Earth School long enough, you begin to see that people can be victimized by the trivial, such as the weather, or the tragic, such as the death of a loved one or other dramatic loss. In fact, some people appear to be victimized by just about everything they encounter from their daily commute and the demands of their job when they get there, to the family and home they return to, and just about everything that does not go smoothly in between. Clearly, they are in reactive mode and no longer choosing their response. Perhaps we have seen this. Perhaps we have lived it. Perhaps we just stand in judgement of those who do.
As loving and as compassionate as we strive to be, judgement rears its ugly head, especially with regard to victims. We may respond with the most disdain to those who appear to be the most depressed and have lost the drive to fight their way back from whatever life has thrown at them. There's a voice in our head that tells us that we must never let that happen to us. And so it begins...
We see the world through the eyes of fear which closes our hearts, contracts our energy, stresses the body, restricts the mind. We need to work very hard to make sure "that" - whatever it may be - never happens to us. We need to be alert. We need to be on guard. We need to be smart. We need to be _____________________(fill in the blank). We need to change, to accumulate, to fix, to manage, to ____________________ (fill in the blank). We need to save ourselves and others from the pain of life. In short, we need to be a Hero.
On the outside, we may have all the bells and whistles that are the sounds of success. We may have the body, the looks, and a flair for fashion that others see and may even envy. We may have an intellect that allows us to not only compete in the marketplace, but to win fame and fortune as well. We may have the means to buy whatever the latest thing is that will allow us to feel safe and ok - at least for the moment. But as life happens, everything changes from people to styles to circumstances. Try as we may, we just can't keep up. Being a hero is exhausting. We think we are running out of fuel. If we are lucky, it is at this point we stop and look at our lives and realize that we are victims too - reacting to life rather than choosing our response. Yep, people can fall into the victim's role of playing the hero just as easily as they can be the damsel in distress. The only difference is in how society views and reinforces the role and that's where the greatest trouble lies.
Society today encourages and rewards the victim as hero lifestyle: Work, work, work, and then work some more - not just at your job or in your career, but in all things. You must get better, faster, smarter, and accumulate more, more, more...Like I said, if this pace continues unabated, exhaustion is sure to set in.
What is the antidote to this toxic lifestyle? Must we run away to an ashram and isolate ourselves from the people, circumstances, and events that are ever so demanding? Of course not. As with all things, the change will come from the inside-out beginning with the awareness of what is happening. By going within, consulting our own intuition, and opening the possibility to living life another way, we create the shift that is needed to do just that.
The shift does not require a change in lifestyle as much as it does a change in consciousness. That's not to say that a change in outer circumstances will not occur. Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. What changes is our perspective. What is needed is a return to our Power. What happens is that we flip the switch that allows us to stop reacting and to start choosing our response! Rather than being swept away by the dance of the whirling dervish, we willingly step out onto the floor and consciously choose our next move. We once again know what it is like to choose our intentions, thus living from Cause rather than reeling from effects.
Yes, you are the Hero of your own Life. Let it be a role that you choose and a part that you play with plenty of room for improvisation. Some days you will be in a comedy. Some days a tragedy. Embrace what is there before you in every moment knowing that how you play your role in the present, determines the next act in the play and ultimately where you will end up as the curtain closes. Be an authentic Hero by remembering that in the Game of Life, choice trumps regret every time!
As always, I trust that these words will find their way to the right people, at the perfect time, and have the intended impact on the lives and hearts of my readers for the best and Highest Good.
With Blessings, Love and Light,
Nurture U
No comments:
Post a Comment