Sometimes reality is evasive, shielded by our established perception of the world.

A few small recent events have highlighted how we are caught up in our skewed inner-worlds, often trying to force a reality from a model/concept that we hold is ‘the way’. Local campaigning in our area for the sake of a ‘symbolic’ protest. Or explanations at my doorstep of world tragedies through an out-dated religious model. Trying to make reality fit into a model that has been decided ‘how it is/should be’, rather than being with reality and taking obvious next steps. I’m not for or against these people’s beliefs – actually quite neutral. My point is that people are ‘fighting’ for something without taking a reality check. Fuelled by the ‘fight’ and taking action/inaction to the point of forgetting the whole purpose in the first place. This happens everywhere.

I love to dance but I am not a  professional dancer. I go regularly to African Dance classes in Miami (Gold  Coast) with Afrogroove and have a great time learning new traditional dances,  dancing with drummers and socialising with a group of lovely people. Most of all, I love moving my body, getting my body buzzing and bringing my dance to  the next level.

Cigarettes. Drink driving. Obesity. Environmental destruction. How often do we use scare tactics and manipulation to get results in our society? We do it over and over again – to gain outcomes, yet it only brings short-term results. It’s as if the problem is a lack of education, but in this technology age – I think we are over-educated on the ‘facts’, real or perceived. Thanks to the internet (including Google, Facebook, blogs/articles, Wikipedia) we can find out almost anything within seconds.

We use deadlines, ‘should do’s’, perceived needs (as opposed to real needs), negative consequences, guilt trips – as a way of forcing others/ourselves into taking action. As pointed out in the book “The Path of Least Resistance” by Robert Fritz, the Ethiopian dilemma of poverty has been around for many decades and yet the problem still continues. The use of sorrowful images to gain donations, stirring up feelings of guilt and grief, many years of funds raised and used –and yet the real problem hasn’t changed. There’s a circulating post on Facebook about the cruelty of the major population still being poorer that the top 10 or top 3 richest people in the world. 

There are so many things I want to write after experiencing a month focusing on faith – but I don’t want to write a novel. It was no  coincidence that FAITH was the first theme – because I realise now that faith is the first point of call when healing in the physical, emotional and/or spiritual. It is also the first point of call when desiring a shift in paradigms. Having faith implies acknowledging something is possible, greater than your current limitations. It opens the gate of action, even when all possibilities seem low.