When the world seems to have gone mad (50% of our country actually thinks Trump is a good idea) how do we process the exhausting emotions that come along with knowing and feeling deeply the chaos and sadness of the world? Ask a yogi, that’s how. We went to our guru-friend Anna Ferguson for a conversation on how hard it can be to know and feel too much. What are sensitive souls to do in a time of sensory assault?
The weight of the world…it’s hard not to feel it. Even on a bright sunny day it can feel like a thick fog. There are times when I wake up in the morning, prepare myself a meal, enjoy time in nature, go to the studio to teach, hold my son close to me, or go to bed at night that I think…someone is being murdered right now, someone is being raped right now, someone is being verbally or physically abused right now, someone is starving right now, someone is unable to find a job to support themselves right now, someone is getting their child taken away from them right now, someone doesn’t have a bed to sleep in or a roof over their head right now…and it goes on and on and on.
When I sit and meditate with my son Noah or a group of people, I feel so fortunate. I am able to do this every day if I so choose. I don’t take these blessings for granted. I ask myself, what am I able to do to end all this suffering, oppression, and violence. Stay content? I don’t think so. I mean, yes, I must take time for self-care and practices that allow me to maintain inner peace, but remain content with “the way things are.” Nope. I will be divinely discontent until this world is filled with kindness, gentleness, empathy, and compassion for all beings and the earth. I will do all I am able to liberate others…those with two legs, four legs, hooves, fins, skin, scales, fur, and feathers. I will stand strong in my values that challenge the normalcy of society, even if it means others feel uncomfortable by it.
The easy thing to do is to give in or give up…the small and large-scale pressures are great and the petty arguments and disputes that often cause a breakdown of living one’s values even greater. But if I give in, what kind of life am I living? Not an authentic one. Each moment of each day, I strive to live my core values of love, mutual respect, kindness, empathy, and compassion for myself and all others. When I do this, I am connected to my authentic self, my true nature. This is a movement anyone may join…a movement to truly live one’s values. It is an evolution not a revolution, a personal transformation not a renaissance…a call to action to utilize three tools available within each individual at all times:
intuition + empathy + compassion for all life = peace.
I take action within to be of better service to the world, practicing mindfulness to more deeply connect with my natural ability to intuit, empathize, and show compassion. May we all choose to be part of this evolution and work together both within and without to end all forms of violence, domination, bigotry, selfishness, greed, and discrimination bringing complete freedom, prosperity, and happiness to all. For all of these different forms of oppression to finally end, it is only going to happen because of this evolutionary movement.
The weight of the world is heavy, and I am able to get through each day knowing that I am doing something to make it lighter, until one day, all of us are truly living our core values and we celebrate world peace.
Anna Ferguson is the co-founder of World Peace Yoga, a style of yoga that inspires manifesting the most exquisite and authentic version of one’s self through developing intuition, empathy, and compassion. Anna is the director of the World Peace Yoga Personal Spiritual Growth and Yoga Teacher Training programs in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the author of the upcoming World Peace Yoga book, a beautifully arranged and brilliantly photographed yoga book for people who breathe to be released in early 2017.