No time to read? Pick your language & press PLAY Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

– John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 

Last week, amid global protests, the radical unveiling of the shadow of racism, an escalating mental and social health pandemic, and increasing confusion about best next steps to help the world move safely through and beyond the threats of the Coronavirus, I had my own momentary existential crisis.

While I have been doubling down on all the practices I’ve learned over the past 35 years to stay calm, focused, and healthy in times of immense external challenge, and doing my best to show up fully – to support others and engage in meaningful ways, I questioned whether what I was doing mattered and whether I could truly affect real and lasting change. I longed to deeply understand, once again, what my role should be on the planet and from what position I could best fulfill that role for the good of mankind and in service of the soul force crying out within me.

Although built up by cumulative energy and a series of disruptive events, my moment of breakdown (or breakthrough?) was triggered by a song and a video.

I had just finished my sunset yoga practice on the roof and went in to cook dinner. I decided to listen to some Marvin Gaye while cooking. When I searched for the song “What’s Going On?”, the following video came up. I watched, and I wept.

 

 

Maybe part of my grief was releasing memories from my childhood in Detroit when Motown released Marvin’s anthem for a troubled time. As a lost 11-year-old, facing a collapsing urban empire wrought with racial tension, corrupt leadership, the closure of the public school system, the boarding up of small businesses, white flight, forced and failed desegregation policies, an exponential uptick in drug and alcohol use, and the end of my childhood as I once knew it, Marvin’s “What’s Going On?” was one of the few resonating messages that I could wrap around my aching heart and troubled mind.

Another part of the emotion moving through me was a recognition of the amount of injustice that exists in the world, extending far beyond what will ever make the headlines. To learn more about what this meant within my evolution and what to do with all this energy moving through me, I reached out to one of my dear friends and spiritual guides, Jeffrey Armstrong. Jeffrey said I was having an empath’s nightmare. Because of my nature, he went on to remind me, I viscerally feel the suffering of the world.

When I inquired about my dilemma about feeling called to do so much more but lost at how to fulfill that, he explained that I would always feel the suffering of others and that there will always, no matter how much I do, be others who are suffering. My mentor reminded me of the impact that I have already had through my work – both seen and unseen. I became clear, once again, that the one thing I can control and do for myself and the world, in the face of any challenge, is to stay committed to my values and fulfilling my potential, and to continue using my gifts in the service of the higher good for all.

In another conversation I had this morning, a friend shared the metric that simply through small and consistent acts of kindness, an individual will positively impact the lives of over 70,000 people in their lifetime. While neither my mentor’s advice nor my friend’s reminder of the power of kindness alleviated me of my desire to serve at an even grander scale, nor exonerated me from either experiencing the emotions or doing the daily work, they gave me much-needed context and perspective.

Like so many of you, I have been called to create, inspire and connect. As long as we continue to make the creative and positive contributions we find meaningful and work to master the capabilities that are essential to our soul’s full expression (aka MTP for you Exponentialists), we can trust that we will touch lives in a positive way. As long as we are consistently sharing our gifts in support of the greater good, and working with and empowering others to do the same, we become part of the solution – creating a ripple effect for a more compassionate, intelligent and collaborative global society.

“Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.”

– Dalai Lama

 

In my years of experience as a creative and social entrepreneur, I have learned 3 things:

1. Everything we say, do, and create matters.
2. We never know the extent of the ripple effect of any of our positive contributions, no matter how small they seem at the time.
3. We don’t create any lasting change in the world by going it alone. 

Now more than ever, this is a time to honor the power of co-creation and to work together in collaboration for a common vision of a more humane world. Enough small waves in the same direction can fill an ocean and change the shape of the continent. The energy of enough voices gathered together in harmony can, as the great late JFK puts it, ‘build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance’.

••••

About the Author 

Frank Fitzpatrick is a Creative Visioneer, Engagement Expert and High-Performance Coach on the Faculty of Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine.

To connect, go to FrankFitzpatrick.com

To learn more about working 1-on1 with Frank, go to BeyondPerformance.Life

Related Articles

HOPE: A Power Tool for Leadership & Self-MasteryRedefining C.A.L.M.

Music For Hope: Pathways for Perseverance