09/12/2025
We may yearn for peace, unity, and connection, yet so often feel compelled to take sides in an argument. In politics we are goaded into feeling visceral anger toward specific figures. In spiritual communities we split the world into binaries of good v evil, light v dark, abundance v scarcity. By clinging to a specific identity, we turn the opposing side into a threat, or something to be feared or resented, or an enemy to be vilified. Perhaps this is a necessary fire that the ego needs to burn through, until we are able to understand that the roles of hero and villain are created largely by our own perceptions.
Achieving true alignment and peace means stepping off the battlefield of judgment. It requires sitting in stillness and questioning our narratives. It doesn’t mean that we stop having discernment, or agree with things we find morally wrong. It means, instead, that we stop letting those forces take our inner peace hostage.
One way of interrogating our perception is to meditate (or simply breathe … deeply and slowly), connect with intuition, and play devil’s advocate. Ask questions, such as: “How might this person or situation be a catalyst for evolution? In what ways could this be waking me (and/or other people) up, or teaching me something? By exploring the counter-arguments, we stop giving our power away to fear, anger or judgement. True alignment comes not from believing an "enemy" or situation must be feared or defeated, but from the inner capacity to hold space for the whole picture—shadow and all.
