Lunar Blog Post Series – New Moon – May 30 2022
It’s the new moon – that part of the lunar cycle where the moon vanishes from the night sky. The funny thing is that it’s because the earth is in the way – it’s blocking the light of the sun. I keep thinking about how humans sometimes get in their own way when looking for solutions to problems. When we can’t see solutions or choices we drift to overwhelm and hopelessness.
Your Circle of Influence
Overwhelm is a place of inaction. If we don’t think we can affect change, why bother? But I would propose to you that we all have a circle of influence and we can focus on possibilities within that circle.
Here’s a garden analogy. Many things happen in our gardens that are out of our control – weather, insects, and squirrels are at the top of my list. We had snow in Denver one week ago. Then the temperature climbed to almost 90. Yesterday we had hail. It’s hard to garden here, but if I only focused on the challenges I might give up on gardening. Within my circle of influence are actions like choosing hearty crops, covering plants with frost and hail cloth, and planting in pots that can be moved to safety. I can choose to act or not. An important point to remember is that if I do nothing, I am still making a choice.
Circle of Influence is Applicable to All of Life
I’m obviously not simply speaking of gardens and how to protect them. Most of us are reeling from the back to back mass shootings here in the United States. And the fact that gun violence is the leading cause of death for American children is hard to take. It is easy to go to overwhelm, but overwhelm is a place of immobilization. And sadly, the people making lots of money from these weapons want you to go overwhelm. Please don’t assume nothing can be done.
Mindfulness practice is not about escaping from the world. It is about seeing things clearly. Mindfulness can help us clarify our thoughts, identify what is important, and even the action steps we can take from a place of calm. Spend some time in contemplation about your own circle of influence. It may be wider than you think. Identify the ways you can make our country safer. Step up and act on them. You don’t have to figure this all out yourself. There are many organizations working on common sense solutions. (See below.)
The Antidote for Overwhelm
Envision a country in which schools, grocery stores, movie theaters, places of worship, and just everywhere are safe from gun violence. Since many other countries have achieved this, it is absurd to say it cannot be done.
Know that you have power and a circle of influence in which to take action. You don’t have to do everything, but you can step up and do something. And you can widen your circle of influence by joining together with others. Small actions when done by many people translate to big actions. Together we can work for change. Find your power – find your voice. The antidote for overwhelm is action.
Resources
Scientific American article on Gun Safety
Policy Statement from March for Our Lives (created by the Parkland survivors)
(For more on my lunar blog post series click here.)
Thank you Joann.. this is so well said! You are right – there are always things that we can do to take action, and seeing things clearly helps us to formulate a plan. We need to keep going.. to not give up. It is so easy to fall into despair, but we need to pick ourselves up and move forward with purpose. Our next generations need to have a world where they are safe and secure. The young people are rising up all over the country – March for Our Lives is a case in point. Thank you for listing the resources that are wonderful ways to stay focused and involved. By banding together, we can support each other and work towards creating a better world. Thank you Joann!
Katy,
Thanks! I needed to write this one for myself! Doing nothing is not an option. And you are right – the March for Our Lives organization is filled with young people who are passionate about changing the world.
I would add to your resources: The Daily podcast on the history of gun safety laws in CA (called “Lessons in Gun Control from California” and broadcast on Jun 2, 2022). Starting in the 1970’s, CA began to work on gun safety with laws. Amazingly, Reagan as Gov. of CA was at that start, and signed into law in CA a prohibition of open carry. CA did research before passing a law, and then continue to study the impact, putting laws together so they worked together and showed subsequent improvement. CA outlawed Saturday night specials that were causing massive gun deaths and injuries. CA went from having a gun death rate slightly higher than a lot of US states, to today having a gun death rate per 100,000 people that is almost half of the rest of the US. Gun safety laws can work, if done comprehensively and smartly. And CA still has people come into the state with guns from other states, but their laws have made a huge different in decreasing loss of life and terror from proliferating guns.
Thanks Debbie – its so important to highlight the success of positive actions. I will get that added.
Thank you Joann. An amazing statement of Reagan as CA Gov was “No citizen needs to be walking around with a gun.” This was related in that The Daily podcast. I figure at least when people say to us – gun safety laws don’t work – we can point them to CA history and that podcast (or can read the article based on it in The NY Times and maybe on NPR.