Spread the Light

I Connect.

I got mine, now you get nothing.

This is the greatest hypocrisy – when people believe that something is right, and then renege when it comes to someone else getting what they got.

There are a lot of examples, but right now, I’m thinking about immigration. All of us, save Native Americans, are children of immigrants or immigrants ourselves. We are all here in the U.S. because we or our ancestors lived in some place that was so horrible, so poverty-stricken, or so war-torn, that they left everything they ever knew to try to make better lives for their children. From the person in the highest position in this country to my neighbor down the street, this is true, and yet they have now taken the reprehensible position of telling people just like them or their forebears that they have to leave. They have to return to the horrors of their countries of origin, and for what? A complete myth that these hardworking, courageous people are somehow dangerous.

I live in Miami – a city of immigrants. I have never felt threatened by an immigrant – documented or not. I see them everywhere- selling flowers far into the night at intersections, repairing roofs in 90+ degree heat, cleaning houses, and of course, working in the fields. Contrary to the lies spread by politicians out for gaining power through spreading fear, they don’t get benefits. They are not taking anything away from anyone. Many of them pay taxes for which they will never earn healthcare or social security or unemployment benefits. They are fortunate if they can get emergency medical treatment at the one hospital that will treat them. Now there is nowhere safe, and if they are deported, they will return to disease, chaos, and even death.

White Europeans came to this country to escape their own persecutions and famine, and immediately began committing genocide. Then we brought enslaved people to enrich us and fought a civil war that continues to this day just to continue the idea that white skin makes us superior. We try to atone for this periodically, but that is short-lived and insufficient at the best of times.

So much of what we Americans take pride in has been accomplished by using and abusing those among us without a voice.

How does this belong in a newsletter for therapists and healthcare professionals?

I talk and write and counsel about Connection every day. All of the problems I see in my practice are related to disconnection. When we find one way to disconnect, it will affect everything in our lives. When we turn our heads to suffering, when we become smug in our positions of superiority, we experience the unconscious pain of disconnection. For many, this leads to the addictive behavior that allows escape for a time.

Many of us and our clients are also feeling overwhelmed with the immense suffering that every day brings. Tuning into the news on our phones, the TV, and from our friends becomes addictive.

So, now, in addition to the Serenity Prayer, I am challenging you all to Connect in a way that gives support to someone suffering. Smile, speak up, give a hug, find a way to spread your light. Put positive energy into the universe. When enough good people focus their energy, change will happen.

Be In Light,
Carol