Being human in impossible times means navigating overwhelming complexity – so many layers, so many double standards. We’re living in a gray world when we’ve been taught to only see in black and white.
We are witnessing so much violence and injustice globally and cruelty happening in our own communities. I’ll be clear on where I stand: what’s happening right now in the U.S. and Minneapolis is wrong. It’s inhumane. And saying that isn’t political. It makes me human.
One of my values that I’m using as a North Star during these times has been to act from love and not add any hate. But let’s make sure we distinguish the difference between anger and hate, because this matters more than ever right now.
Anger can actually be quite healthy. Anger is a transformer. It’s what pushes us to make changes in our lives, stand up for ourselves, create boundaries. Without a healthy sense of anger, we would probably never change, and we would probably be doormats. It is absolutely okay – healthy, even – to be super angry right now. You can be angry at a situation, at a person, at a group, and still not wish any harm to them.
Hate is something else entirely. Hate is wishing to inflict pain on others. Hate is having no compassion when people different from you get hurt. Hate says, “Your pain doesn’t matter.”
I am angry. I am not hateful.
This is not a time for spiritual bypassing. We can’t love-and-light this away. We can’t just rely on hopes and prayers. I’m not saying these things aren’t helpful or needed – they absolutely are. They just also need intentional action to go with them.
Answers to our prayers are not delivered with lightning striking and making the needed change. Prayers are answered through people. Spirit works through us all. That means we are all walking prayers, even in the simplest acts we do.
Any spirituality that “rises above” these times and events has the possibility of making us too neutral, too numb to what’s happening. Any spirituality that makes us less human is not helpful – it’s not the point. Spirituality should make us more humane.
If we are walking prayers, then keeping up our spiritual connection and discernment becomes not just self-care – it becomes a responsibility to the world. How can we be clear channels for love and justice if we’re disconnected from our own inner authority? How can we discern right action from reaction if we’re not tending to our spiritual grounding? The world needs us awake, not asleep. Connected, not numb.
But here’s where I’ve been really questioning myself: Another North Star I’ve had is to not add to the divisiveness. Our power is in unity. Bringing back the “we” into the “me.” But when does a fear of divisiveness become complacency?
Many of us were raised to be peacekeepers. We learned early that keeping everyone happy was our job. We became experts at smoothing things over, avoiding conflict, making sure no one was uncomfortable – especially not because of something we said or did. And for many of us, this has been detrimental to our own well-being. We’ve lost pieces of ourselves trying to keep the peace.
What if this same pattern is showing up in our society? What if our collective desire to be peacekeepers is actually stealing our peace? What if the very thing we thought would protect us – staying quiet, not making waves, not “being divisive” – is exactly what’s allowing harm to continue?
Don’t get me wrong – peacekeepers are important and needed. But like anything, it’s about balance. What happens when peacekeeping becomes peace-avoiding? When it becomes a way to sidestep the uncomfortable conversations and actions that real peace actually requires?
I read something recently that triggered me at first: “If you don’t choose a side, you are choosing a side.” My initial reaction was to question if this was part of the manipulation that’s happening. But I think there’s truth in it.
How is staying silent doing more good than bad? How is one supposed to take a stand for what they believe in without automatically being labeled divisive? How do we stand up for what we believe without adding more hate to the machine?
Here’s what I’ve realized: The culture keeps offering us only two options – righteous rage that dehumanizes people, or spiritualized passivity that does nothing. Both are unacceptable.
There is a third way: Anger that fuels protection, not punishment. Action rooted in love, not moral superiority. Resistance that refuses to become cruel.
People can see that the government exists to keep us in a perpetual state of “us against them.” People aren’t completely blind to the fact that most government is manipulative and corrupt in many ways. And yet even as much as we can see that, it’s really hard not to “choose a side” based on our beliefs. The system keeps winning by feeding us this “us against them” rhetoric like three square meals plus snacks a day, and then we think that same government is going to save us. They’re not.
I don’t consider myself political. I don’t belong to the Republicans or Democrats. I’m a humanitarian.
And what do you do when peaceful protests don’t work? When trying to work through the system doesn’t work? It’s no wonder people turn to violence – though let me be clear, I don’t condone that path. I believe violence is never the way. But are we really supposed to sit back and watch when people are being treated so inhumanely?
The mistake isn’t taking a stand. The mistake is taking a stand that erases people’s humanity. Standing for something is not the same as standing against people.
How do we get people to come together? How can we rehumanize our systems?
Answering hate with more hate is not the answer. And neither is complacency and non-action. Hope and prayers are not enough on their own.
If we are walking prayers – if spirit truly works through us – then how we speak, where we show up, who we protect, what we refuse to normalize becomes the prayer itself. This reframes action as sacred responsibility, not saviorism.
It asks for:
· Refusal to dehumanize, even when angry
· Refusal to stay silent, even when uncomfortable
· Small, embodied acts that align our values with our behavior
· Spiritual practices that keep us grounded in love, not fear
· The courage to speak truth, even when it disrupts false peace
Checking on neighbors. Showing up locally. Interrupting cruelty without escalating it. Naming harm without turning people into monsters. This is how “we” comes back online.
Could we all be a little more compassionate with each other right now? Could we understand that everyone is scared, angry, and overwhelmed before we look for more reasons to cut each other down?
We need discernment now more than ever. You have to claim your own inner authority and connection to spirit. It’s also important to stay out of superiority. How can you stand up for what you believe without tearing down others who believe differently?
Lean into curiosity. Build bridges, not walls.
Please, this is a time we all need to come together and rehumanize our systems and our country. Find even tiny actions you can take to put your love and compassion into action. No matter how small and powerless we can feel as individuals, we are more powerful in our unity.
We don’t have to choose between righteous rage and spiritual bypassing. We can choose moral courage that stays human. We can choose to be walking prayers that refuse to let love become passive or anger become cruel.
Maybe it’s time to stop being peacekeepers and start being peace-makers. The difference? Peacekeepers avoid the conflict. Peace-makers walk straight through it with love as their compass.
That’s not political. That’s just being human in impossible times.
