3P Random Reflections Blog

With the fallout from the recent suicide of Robin Williams (and as with any tragedy), there is a flurry of activity in the news and social media, much of which comes from individuals genuinely struggling with their thoughts of sadness and frustration, and desperately looking for, or demanding a solution. And although I may not agree with their judgements, demands, or proposed solutions, I also know that with each person's access to infinite and invisible thought, I can't possibly know or understand what's going on in each of their minds. However, in a relatively good state of mind for myself in the moment, I can have compassion for their suffering, and see their genuine desire for creating "better".

And with that state of mind, and an understanding of the Principles, there are two things that stand out to me... What my feelings are telling me, and what I am inspired to do (or not do) about it.

When something tragic happens, my thoughts, feelings, and actions in each changing moment, will vacillate between love and fear (good and bad). And that's a perfectly natural part of life. The only important thing to note is that my bad feelings are a sign, telling me when my thinking is off.

And so, when someone dies, and I feel frustration, or hopelessness, or sadness, or grief, it's perfectly OK and natural to react this way. But, these bad feelings are also signposts telling me to not make any major decisions based on them, to not spend time trying to figure it out, and to not try coming up with a solution right now. I'm just temporarily wallowing in a well of bad thoughts, and I don't need to make them worse by adding on more or digging in deeper. If I just wait it out a bit, I'll start noticing moments of feeling better and seeing clearer.

In contrast, there are those clearer moments when I see the tragedy from a more philosophical and less personal view, and I simply hold feelings of love, compassion, and understanding, with no immediate need to fix or figure out. At these times, I know my thoughts are clearer and I'm in a better place to make decisions. And so if I'm inspired to take action in these moments, it's an instinct that I can more likely trust.

When anything tragic happens, or I am reacting to any suffering I see in others (either for those directly impacted by the tragedy or those watching on the sidelines), one of the inevitable thoughts that appears in my mind is... "if only everyone knew about the Principles".

But here's the catch... That statement of "if only" can come with two completely different feelings. One, as a matter of fact statement from love and understanding, potentially inspiring my loving action. And the other from my insecure thoughts that something urgently needs to be done. The urgency is simply telling me that my thinking is off, and that it's probably not a good time for me to push my beliefs out into the world. And here's a clarification for that...

I had an insight a while back where I realized that the Principles are only true when I'm sharing them from a loving state of mind. When I want to fervently push them on someone else, or explain why my belief is right and theirs is wrong, or find myself impatient in getting others to understand, then the Principles are no longer true. Alternatively, when I'm in a state of non-judgment and patience, then the Principles become true once again, and my actions in sharing them are more likely coming from a kinder and wiser place.

That being said, I'm human, and despite my awareness of the Principles, I still frequently do actions from a place of insecurity, and that's perfectly OK too. Because no matter what happens as a result, I myself, and the rest of the world, will be perfectly fine. We all act from insecurity, and we all keep getting through it.

So with all of these understandings for myself, I am aware of the advantage of operating more from a state of flow, no pushing or pulling, no resistance, just doing. And for me, at this moment, although I'm in a clearer state of thought, I'm also not inspired by any specific actions on what to do next regarding this latest tragedy, other than to keep doing what I'm doing... Sharing what I can when I can, in the most loving way possible... Through my coaching, through my work, and in discussions with family, friends, and whomever I encounter.

Now at some point in the future, it may make complete sense (for me) to get the word out in a bigger way. And it's likely that many of my own insecurities are holding me back from doing that now. But that's OK too. I'm always (along with everyone else) just doing the best that I can.

Funnily enough, a short time after I had my insight into the Principles understanding, I was inspired to do something bigger. I wrote a letter to the newly appointed Minister of Health in Canada, letting her know about this "relatively new" understanding. I included a brief note about how it had helped me, and provided numerous links to all of the research for her to investigate further.

I'd never written a letter to anyone in government before (I have insecure thoughts about being perceived as pushy, or self righteous, or on the lunatic fringe), but I still sent it anyway. It just seemed to be the right thing to do, without much thought about it. Of course, in my insecure moments after sending it, I was feeling embarrassed about what they may think about me, and wondering why on earth I did it, and then a bit later, I eventually laughed about my own insecurities. I never heard anything back from the new minister, so who knows if it had any impact at all. And ultimately, that doesn't matter either.

Overall, what I do know in the simplest way, is that when I'm inspired to take action from a state of love, it can often be much more impactful than my actions from a state of insecurity. And perplexingly, even my most insecure actions can sometimes inspire insightful actions in others.

As for Robin Williams, I have several thoughts about that too. The first one is that with his own access to infinite and invisible thought, I can have absolutely no idea what was going on in his mind And how much suffering he was experiencing. And anything that I can come up with, will only be a reflection of what's going on in my own. Perhaps to him, in that moment, the choice of suicide was a good one, from his own infinitely unique perspective of his past, present and future. Who knows?

And so this begs the questions... How can we ever really know or assume that everyone who chooses death, is doing so to avoid suffering? And why, when death is as natural a part of life as birth, do we see it as such a bad thing, and often deal with it in such fearful ways?

When I had my initial awakening to the Principles, I had an insight that no matter what happened, I would be perfectly fine... even if I died. And I can't give you a specific reason for why it's true, I just know that it is. And so from that same perspective, and in a state of clarity, I see that loss of life (whether mine or others) isn't quite as scary for me as it used to be. And in reflection, it occurs to me that someone's physical presence may be gone, but that their innate wellbeing is still perfectly intact, and the energy of their perfect soul is still perfectly OK. As all of ours are, and will always be.

Of course, the next moment when I'm invariably in a lower state, I may not be so confident. That's the crazy part of this infinitely fascinating game of life... But for now anyway, this latest tragedy has me once again, gently pondering the "if only".

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