There is a lot going on in the world today—many unhappy people.  And their voices are getting louder.  There are several reasons for this, not just one.  So, how do you solve such an epidemic?  Ask for world peace, oppress a group of individuals so the rest can live happily…no…  We are at a precipice, a moment of transformation and how we conduct our actions will have a huge impact on what is to come.  So what is the solution?

It all begins with acknowledgement—acknowledging others; their beliefs, their core frustrations, angst, irks, and realize where people are at in life.  Factor in that person’s world.  So many times we look at our own situation and say, “They can never understand me.”  Perhaps true.  No one can walk in your shoes and metaphorically if they did, the foot wouldn’t be an exact match. There is no one like you and as I have heard before, the universe does not like to repeat.  You are unique, special and beautiful, all because you exist in this moment and time.  But when looking beyond one’s self to encompass the world of people out there and their unique experiences, there is a lot to factor in.

I just recently had a situation with one of my best friends.  She wasn’t happy with me—I knew it, she knew it, but neither of us was talking about it; the issue, the problem that irked us, and it was effecting how we were interacting.  I could tell by her body language.  You know when you are in a room and the air is suddenly thick?  That is what it felt like.  Now, I knew it didn’t all have to do with me but I also knew I was some part of it.  To have an upset one day out of the 356 day in a year isn’t bad but if you let that irking feeling persist it can create a huge gap between you and that other person, or on a larger scale between groups of people, between nations, between cultures and/or races, the list goes on.   So I asked flat out what was going on and she told me.  Whether you agree or not with what that person has to say, that is far less important than you listening and acknowledging how that person feels and what they think.  We are even closer, I feel, now than we were before and that was because we listened to each other, acknowledged each other.  I can trust her to be honest with me and she can trust me to be honest with her.  After that situation I thought, ‘What would happen if people were just honest about what was truly in their heart?  Where would our world be if we just acknowledged everyone in it?’

The world is constantly changing, as are we.  What would happen if we truly took a step back from the ‘they can never understand me,’ to encompass the situation of the masses.  What could we, as a people, accomplish if we just started with acknowledgement?  Imagine where we could be if we just believed in the possibilities.  The sky is no longer the limit…we could shoot for the stars…