Choose love not toilet paper
/Hello my loves,
Gloriana, isn't this a time?! Who could have predicted a few weeks ago that we'd be right here, right now, at a moment in history that is asking so much of us all emotionally. I was recently caught up in a decidedly fiery situation that asked a huge amount of me, and everyone around me, and I wanted to share my experience with you today, because it draws some fairly direct parallels with the global situation we're all currently trying to navigate.
So here's what went down. In late December I beetled my merry way down to a gorgeous holiday house owned by treasured friends, just outside Bateman’s Bay. It's an incredibly special spot, nestled on a cliff edge in a beautiful copse of gum trees. A bone dry, prolific, tinderbox of gumtrees. We were keeping a weather eye on the fire activity, but no one was expecting what would actually unfold. At 6am on NYE, all our phones pinged simultaneously with the message: seek shelter as the fire arrives. Oh shit. That day, the world burned around us. Huge flames roared right behind the evacuation centre we ended up in, the sky roiled with enormous clouds of the blackest smoke, the wind whipped with incredible force, and then the entire world went an apocalyptic red. No one knew what was happening. I am a deeply spiritual, connected and grounded person who believes fully in my path on this earth. For 45 minutes that day, I was fucking terrified.
In an unprecedented situation, no one really knows what to do. Not the authorities, not the media, not the government, not anyone. All that you can do is make your own decisions based on sources that you trust, and what you feel is right for you. And you must respect others' choices too. We had absolutely no information as the NYE fires unfolded: no internet, no phone, and very little access to the authorities, who were all stretched to their absolute limits and doing a bloody amazing job. No one knew where the fire was, which way it was moving, where was safe, or what to do. Everyone had to make their own choices based on what felt right to them, and now, in the face of this new wave of fear that's cloaked the globe, we are being asked to do the same. Be vigilant about your sources of information, make the choices that feel right to you right now, and remember that everyone is just doing the best that they can in a scenario that’s completely foreign for us all.
But there's something even more important that we need to talk about. Something beautiful that unfolded in those 48 hours during the fires. Hundreds of people were crammed together, sleeping on the floor of a sports hall and library, lining up for food, and generally wondering what the bejesus just happened to New Year’s. And do you know what I saw? People helping people. All the time. In tiny ways that meant the world. Giving your extra bottle of water to a neighbouring family, letting someone else go first up the stairs, sharing information that felt like it was from a source that could be trusted, just listening to people’s experiences (some of those people had just lost their homes, many more didn’t know if their homes were standing or not, and all of us had been through something incredibly tense and terrifying). These small acts of kindness, generosity and community mean everything at a time like this.
When agendas of fear, scarcity and self-preservation seem to be forcing in on you from every side, choose love my darlings. Try to remain centred in the energies of trust, kindness, connection and generosity. Is there anyone who needs your help today? Who can you offer a kindness too? Who can you connect with, just with a smile as you pass them on the street? Might you actually already have enough, despite what consumerism wants you to think? The way through this, as always, is with love, and an open heart to understand what it is that you and the world are learning right now.
You will be fine. The world will be fine. The intensity of those fires are now a memory (although of course many communities are still working through the aftermath), and one day this new perceived threat will be too. Do the best you can, tune inwards for calm and centred guidance, and love thy neighbour, thy colleague, and the elderly person at the supermarket reaching for the last, precious roll of TP (I suggest you reach it down and give it to her).
Be brave my darlings. All experiences in this world are temporary. This too shall pass. Choose love, choose slowness, settle into your nest if that's the choice you have made. Nourish yourself, your family and your community in the best ways you can, and reflect on what this situation is asking you to consider, and the opportunities it might actually be affording you. It seems to me that without many of the current distractions the world throws at us, and with the streets decidedly barer, we all have a little more time. What will you use that time for?
Love, Rachel xxx
PS This is the best article I've read on the toilet paper situation, proving once again that your reality is simply based on your perception of your circumstances. There's always another way :).
