The film "It's a Wonderful Life" has been with me the last few days. Somehow, I had hoped that I would wake up early in the new year to find that it all has been a bad dream, kind of like the vision angel Clarence presents to suicidal George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart). George's beloved hometown, Bedford Falls, has become Pottersville, a garish, nightmarish place of cynical, nasty people and institutions. A short tour of the dystopian town convinces George that his life has in fact made a huge difference to the people around him, and he finally stands tall and walks home to the love and acclaim of the townspeople.
No, we can't unwind our current film. It is for real. However, I think there is some sense in which we are being given the benefit of a glimpse into the nightmare so that we, too, can choose not to despair, can choose to stand up tall, can choose to be fully present and fully who we are, fearlessly representing a higher set of values.
Right this moment, I'm speaking primarily to my women friends simply because I think how we women stand up, in this moment, will make a huge difference in how events unfold, but it applies to men and women. I hope most of you sleep better than I do, but I urge you sometime in the next few nights to turn the alarm on for 2 AM, and spend an hour or two completely on your own, away from family, media, cell phones, work colleagues or other considerations. Make yourself a cup of tea, and do that thing that most of us avoid like the plague. Sit there in the presence of the Mystery, and ask those hard questions. Who am I? What is my primary gift to the world? Is there something else I am meant to be doing with my precious life? What have I been holding back? What are my highest values, and am I living in alignment with them? What do I love? What am I passionate about? The answers may or may not come clearly, but just see what insights surface.
This is our time. Whatever gifts we have held back, our courage, our creativity, our power, it is time to stand up and use them. I'm more and more convinced that it isn't a case of doing things that don't come naturally to us in order to push against the unwanted. It's a case of simply being who we are. Have you been writing poems in your journal but they haven't seen the light of day? Send your best one to all your friends. Are you a painter? Paint more, and make sure the images are seen, even if it means hanging them on the front porch. Are you a doctor or healer? There are so many traumatized, sick people who need you. Are you an activist or leader? Get out there and do it. And if at 60-something, you feel tired of old roles, listen deep in your soul for the emerging new role. Do and be whatever is "you" to a greater degree than you have dared before. It took so much courage for me to take on the writing of this blog, and now I know I need to push it up another notch as well, which I'll talk about in the next few days. If we flood the "airways" with our creativity, absolute integrity, positive power, healing and compassion, at the very least we may find that our stay in "Pottersville" is a relatively short one.
