The Next Line: Aim Lower

With all of the polarization and divisive news and media content that seems to be driving people further away from each other spiritually and emotionally, there are still millions of people who want to take actions that positively affect mankind as a whole. On my quest to be a participating member of  those millions, I glean information and inspiration from many sources. One of these sources is Teal Swan, a well-regarded teacher in the spiritual field. In 2014 she posted a video on YouTube titled; How to Make A Difference in The World. In this video she talks about how making a real difference in the world, specifically ending human suffering, can seem like an overwhelming, impossible task, because the world is full of suffering. Teal explains, “What are you going to do if you see a war in another country? Are you going to get on a plane, get off the plane, go straight into the front lines? Are you going to go try to convince the people in that other country, the soldiers, to stop the bloodshed? Most of us know that the answer to that is, ‘no’.”

Teal goes on to ask, “So, what can we do? What are we honestly able to do to reduce the suffering on this planet? We can only make an impact on suffering if we feel empowered instead of feeling powerless. Take a vow to add to the well-being of this planet, yourself included.” How do we add to our well-being and the well-being of the planet? Ms. Swan explains, “There are an unlimited amount of ways. We can open the door for a stranger, smile more,  pet a dog, eat a plant-based diet, compliment someone, give someone a gift, give someone a hug, spend quality time with someone, inspire others, help someone achieve a goal." These examples of small actions that have big results  remind me of wise words I heard from another source of inspiration.

The popular psychologist and author Jordan Peterson was talking about the concept of aiming low on the Joe Rogan Experience and Joe asked him what he meant by that. Jordan stated that if a person is having trouble making improvements in their life, they are setting the bar too high and they need to aim lower. Peterson says that many people ask the question, “How can I improve my life?” and his response is, “There is something in your life that you are regarding as trivial, that you could do, that you would do, that would result in an actual improvement. But it’s not a big enough improvement for you, so you won’t lower yourself enough to take the opportunity.”

I think the concept of ‘aiming lower’ is a perfect example that aligns with Teal Swan’s explanation of how we probably can’t go stop a war, but we can simply be kinder to ourselves and each other. 1 John 3:18 states “let us not love in word or speech, but by deed and truth” and it’s the simple deeds and actions of love and kindness that will improve our lives and positively impact the lives of others, which helps reduce the suffering on this planet.

YOU

  Donna Ashworth

If every single person who has liked you in your lifetime

were to light up on a map, it would create the most glittering

beautiful network you could imagine.

Throw in strangers you’ve been kind to,

the people you’ve made laugh, or inspired along the way,

and that star-bright web of you would be an impressive sight to behold.

You’re so much more than you think you are.

You have done so much more than you realize.

You’re trailing a bright pathway that you don’t even know about.

What a thing. What a thing indeed.