By Angela Dunning
We can all contribute towards the salvation of our beloved home, planet Earth. Many of us are not activists or in a professional or political position to bring about significant change. However, the one area where we can make a big difference is within ourselves. Because of our inter-connectedness with all life on this planet and indeed the entire cosmos, therefore, by healing ourselves, we also help to heal the planet.
Our first and primary responsibility is always towards our self. Self-care as a way of living – not as an add-on when we’ve already become too stressed or worn out – and inner-work are the foundations on which we can then serve others and the world. These build the solid ground upon which we can help others and the planet.
In addition, if we are doing work that involves supporting or caring for others, then it is vital that we are skilled at our own housekeeping. That we value and prioritize looking after our body, our energy levels, our needs, and our inner, emotional, and spiritual world. Then and only then are we able to truly help others in a way that doesn’t deplete us in the process.
In these turbulent and frightening times of living daily with the reality of the climate crisis, these two pillars of self-love and inner-work are even more important. We mustn’t fall back into the old traps of giving so much of our energies and time that we drain ourselves. We can’t be entirely externally focused all of the time. We must keep coming back home to our inner-home and tending our own fires regularly and well.
Some might question the importance of inner-work, such as the work I do with people and horses, or indeed any therapeutic process right now, especially when there is so much pressure to be “out there” and to be active. However, it is futile to try and save the planet if we neglect our personal healing in the process. For our personal healing is also planetary healing. The more we clear-out and tend to our own personal history of pain and trauma, and the more we know ourselves in all our manifestations, good and bad, the clearer can be our contribution to the world. Others will tend to listen to us, and we can influence from a place of compassion, integrity, and wholeness, motivating others along the way.
So, I would argue that it is even more vital right now to ensure our priority is on our inner-work and that of our clients, as we carefully support them through their own healing journey. We can also find healthier energy to put out onto the planet; the land; the animals; other people who are suffering and fight the many injustices around the world.
One of our key skills to master is learning to balance this inner and outer way of living. We must be ever vigilant so that we don’t lose ourselves in the busy day to day activity, or world matters or crisis, and we must constantly return ourselves back home. We must nurture the ground we stand on and the fires of our inner-life and make self-care the cornerstone of our daily lives, no matter what maelstrom is raging around us.
When we master this art of balancing inner and outer, we quite naturally find new energy which can be focused on issues of importance to us. Then we can contribute even more to the essential healing of the world. Then we can fight the good fight without losing our balance along the way. And, what better way to start out the New Year and decade with a firm commitment to your own health, well-being, and consciousness-raising that contributes to the healing of the planet.
