Don't be addicted to fear, inspire hope

This is on my mind this morning.

Globally, people of every race, gender and religion, are weary of opening their news feed to see terror and war. Manchester, Kabul, London, Syria, Yemen…we are all connected.

These are hijacking and politicising acts of violence. It makes a statement that I am increasingly struggling to understand. I do recognise that it relies on turning love into fear and into anger, to push us away from each other, to turn us against each other. Divide and rule.

When you are talking today, be specific about who ‘they’ are - the terrorists, because depending where you are geographically in the world, a lazy generalisation of ‘they’ might include you and maybe that is why we’re in the trouble that we’re in.

In every part of this beautiful planet, 7 billion people get up each day. A few have a lot, many have something and a lot have very little. 7 billion people of all ages simply want to fulfil their needs to feel safe, to love, to have opportunities and to be respected.

From that common point of empathy, step outside and shine light into your community today. Knowing that, remember that we all have more in common than not.

Light a candle, smile, lift your head out of your phone and make eye contact with someone, put divisions aside and make your own good news, plant something. Don’t play ‘their’ game of divide and rule. Don’t be addicted to fear, do something to inspire hope.

In the words of Carl Sagan, “We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good.”
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 #flowinaction #love #peace #womenwhomovemountains @flowinaction @elainefrancetcb