*Editor’s Note: Elephant Journal articles represent the personal views of the authors, and can not possibly reflect Elephant Journal as a whole. Disagree with an Op-Ed or opinion? We’re happy to share your experience here.

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When are we going to start looking within for direction instead of to those who are lost?

It shouldn’t be that complicated.

Whether it’s because of my neurodivergence, or my Piscean nature, it all really seems quite simple. See, I subscribe to the laws of the universe, not to white men in positions of power. After all, most of what I learned came from my grandmothers, whose simplistic advice still echoes in my ears.

Beyond any religious doctrine, or political party, all of us are humans. Although we can muddy the waters by believing in the laws of men, the universal laws are quite simple…and actually aren’t all that hard to follow. They teach honesty, integrity, and doing no harm as the cornerstones of participating in a positive wave of karmic energy.

Because of course what you sow…will eventually come back.

This holiday season I set an altar up for Yule, attended candlelight mass with my daughters at the historic clapboard church in town, and when my youngest found a spider crawling around the floor that evening, I gently escorted it to the basement.

I didn’t need to listen to scripture in order to know how I should treat my fellow humans. Nor do I need to label myself Buddhist in order to rationalize saving a life that I view just as relevant as my own. No wiccan or pagan symbol adorns my door in order to celebrate Yule; after all, I am just me, following my own path and it’s others who choose to label me.

There is so much to be said about the current state of not just the United States but our world. Because if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that it’s not just Americans that are going through an identity crisis, but this planet. Yet with so much that can be said, it also seems that words fail us. Certainly, we could give a play-by-play of events, yet even in that it’s not saying anything more than you can find on your nightly TikTok scroll (or at least you could have before it was recently bought and censored).

The issue that I’ve been having as I watch headlines and heartbreaking pictures burn into my memory is that it really is quite simple, isn’t it?And yet it still seems we’re missing the point.

My grandmother, or Babci, immigrated from Poland with the customs and language still fresh enough that I love you was one of the phrases that she taught me as a child. Babci and I would collect and paint seashells together, the old pink polish glittering on the found objects we made into art. Babci always told me to treat others how I would want to be treated. And perhaps my perspective is different, as regardless of which side of my family you look at, I am a third-generation immigrant. Whether it was my grandmother from Poland, my grandfather from Ukraine, or my great-grandparents from present day Slovakia, I, like the vast population of this country, am not from the United States.

Yet it seems we’ve forgotten this.

We’ve forgotten, and now are turning our backs on what we’ve always been. Simply because we are looking for an enemy. When, in truth, we aren’t just our own enemy but also our own salvation. To treat people how we want to be treated is simplistic, yet it also doesn’t leave a lot of room for manipulation. To me, the Golden Rule truly means to put out into the world what I hope to receive, and who doesn’t want to receive love, acceptance, patience, and grace?

Yet despite the rationalizations of violence and deception, I also know that this is all arising for a reason. In truth, Americans have always thought of ourselves better than we actually were. We touted the melting pot while skipping over our ruthless and violent history, conquering and colonizing a beautiful land that was already home to many others. And what happens when a history is based on avoidance?

Well, eventually it needs healing, and that is precisely what is happening now.

We have to pass through the generational healing of a nation, even if that means it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Yet, we don’t need those who are lost to give us the direction we need but simply remember our own humanity. To realize that the way forward isn’t found within a specific book, party, or beliefs but in the work that it takes to lead with integrity and truth. We will not be separated from our humanity, and what we’re fighting against isn’t even one another, but in a collective resistance to awakening and learning what it means to be better, to do better.

In truth, the United States is in an abusive relationship. We are gaslit, financially controlled, isolated from those who love us, and fed a constant stream of anxiety-inducing information in order to keep us in our freeze response. Whether you’ve previously healed from an abusive relationship and have found yourself triggered, are still looking to see if one day “he” might change, or trying to align yourself with the oppressor for acceptance, the fact that we are all in an unhealthy and traumatized relationship remains clear.

And yet, it’s also not the time to sit idly by.

There is not one right way to go about responding to the national and potential global crisis that is currently going on, no matter what Instagram may tell you. Whether you choose to make your voice known, or smile at strangers in your small town, it’s not the power of your voice that affects the collective but the genuineness of your actions. Start small. Focus on the community that surrounds you and lead by example. Don’t excuse or avoid what is uncomfortable but give yourself grace in seeing that big changes begin in small ways. Focus on the humanity of yourself and one another and lean into what it means to care for others in the way that you hope to be cared for.

It really is as simple as treating others as you hope to be treated.

And as for me? I will continue pouring into my daughters knowing our future is dependent on the next generation. I will hold doors, smile, and give patience even when it seems like there is none. I will look for where I can be a helper, a supporter, and a voice when it seems like the noise of the world drowns out the voices of the collective because we are here and we’ve never stopped believing in doing what is right.

I will still pray. To God, to Creator, to Universe, to My Ancestors and my Spirit Guides for those suffering, hurting, and being persecuted, just as I will continue to ask for kindness, empathy, patience, intelligence, and integrity in the hearts and minds of every world leader.

Because it really shouldn’t be that complicated.

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