The Global Consequences of Ignoring our Mental Health

It saddens me terribly to say this, but I truly believe that in this country, we are facing an epidemic of cruelty.   Forty years ago, I don’t think we could have ever imagined America as a country, where we would have an average of one mass shooting a day, where police would be regularly caught on tape beating up minorities, or where presidential candidates were allowed to openly incite violence towards anyone they didn’t like.

The reasons for this trend are many. I believe that rising inequality breeds greater unhappiness, and I’ve outlined the reasons in my article, “Does Inequality affect Your Happiness?”   I also believe that as more of us compete for fewer resources, the greater need we have to prove our worth. If we aren’t careful, we can become less trusting. The need to survive can increase our tendency to discriminate against minorities, women, children, the elderly or people who are different than us.

But humans also have tremendous capacity to come together in crises. We have the power to work together, and respond to our collective suffering with empathy and compassion.

So what is the underlying difference between those that choose the path of hate vs. the path of compassion?

I believe it is the willingness to face their own suffering.

I’ve written that we in the US promote the idea of “Just be cool” to our own detriment.   Clinton Callahan, in his book, Directing the Power of Conscious Feelings, puts it slightly differently. He says that in the US, we idolize numbness, and he believes that “Idolizing the strong numb hero has possibly exterminated the human race.”!

Why?   Our culture feeds into capitalism without regard for its consequences on human and animal rights, or our planet.   And while we may not have intentionally chosen this path, it is much harder to choose a path that aligns with our morals, so we often choose to go numb.   Then when we see violence first in the movies, then on TV, and then in the news, we get used to it. We fail to realize that it is hardening our hearts, thickening our heart walls, and allowing us to tolerate more and more cruelty.

Callahan argues that if we allow ourselves to grieve, and to connect with the pain we are causing, and are a part of, that it will allow us to awaken out of our stupor, and to exercise more compassion and empathy.

I couldn’t agree more.   Through my journey of healing, and helping others heal, I’ve seen over and over, as we’ve released the grief, the betrayal, the blame and anger we feel, we can begin to connect with other people’s humanity.   Only after we’ve released the pain, can we realize that we are all limited, we are all flawed, and we are all doing the best we can under the circumstances.  But when we still feel like a victim, and can only see how we’ve been hurt, we can’t connect with another’s pain.

Rwanda is a great example of showing how far a country can come from doing their healing work.   In 1994, Rwanda was in the midst of a devastating civil war which resulted in massive genocide where 800,000 people were killed in just 100 days.   But after the slaughter, the ruling party under Paul Kagame made a commitment towards creating peace and reconciliation, and the story of recovery is awe inspiring!   Rwandan’s are now very proud of their country and commitment to healing and growth!

Our pain needs to be released through compassion. Only when we can be compassionate with ourselves, can we be compassionate with each other.   When we let ourselves feel, process and grieve, and forgive ourselves for our own pain and inadequacies, we can connect at a heart to heart levels with others. This I believe is what we need to do to effectively create a more compassionate world.

What do you think?   Have you had a healing experience that has helped you open your heart?   If so, please share and help me spread the word!

“Angry teenager” by David Castillo Dominici courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

“Sick Woman Suffers From Chest Pain” by stockimages courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net