The last few years have been a roller coaster ride of highs and lows – of tragedy and death, of war and pandemics, of agony and ecstasy. Climate change, a pandemic, extreme politics, war, insurrection, women’s loss of bodily autonomy – these all point to an upheaval in society. But along with that upheaval must come a rebirth. Humans have a choice: to either fight to retain the status quo, or to work toward our own enlightenment to make the world a better place.

Clearly there is pain and suffering in the world. Just because one is on a spiritual path does not mean that suffering and pain will end. In fact, it may very well intensify. The prosperity gospel implies that if we are good people who believe in Jesus, that we will be spared any discomfort – financially, emotionally, spiritually, medically – and we become very angry when that doesn’t always come to pass. However, as we look at the prophets, the saints, or those who are enlightened, the opposite is true. They suffer precisely because they are spiritually enlightened. Speaking truth to power doesn’t always end well for the person speaking the truth.

I believe that those of us on the spiritual path are here to midwife the birth of a new age. What am I called to do individually? Midwifing a new age is a bit more than one person can handle to say the least. The truth of the matter is that I and my fellow seekers are part of a vast collective which is becoming more and more conscious that the world must change if humanity is going to survive. The old institutions, structures, religions, governments, and economic systems are no longer working – if they ever did. As each of us becomes more conscious of this fact, we are looking at ways to make a difference in our own spheres of influence.

How do I make a difference? I believe that the answer is to become the self that my Soul calls me to be, to become completely and wholly myself. This means that I must move beyond my fears to speak my truth. I must raise the hard questions. I must be willing to unflinchingly unmask my own shadows and still love myself unconditionally. I must be able to see the Divine in everyone, including myself. I must be willing to open my heart to the suffering of the world. In short, I must BE LOVE in everything I think, say, or do. I must be willing to sit with uncertainty, to be a vessel that can hold my own pain as well as the pain of others.

This is not an easy calling, and I have more failures than successes. However, if each of us becomes LOVE in the world, together we can usher in a new, more enlightened age. We can become the ever-widening ripples of love which ultimately birth a kinder, more compassionate world.

Barbara Garland
January, 2023