by Cheryl Richardson: My cell phone chimed and I looked up to see a text with three words that always bring a smile to my face: Rickie Lee Jones…
My friend Bruce was asking if I wanted to attend a concert with him and I immediately texted back, You bet!
Last night we attended that concert in one of our favorite places, a beautiful theater called the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA. Behind the stage is a wall of glass that looks out over the ocean and the seating is designed to make guests feel like they’re watching the performance from a cozy living room.
Rickie Lee was all I hoped for. Her voice was clear and strong and her presence magnetic. When she opened her mouth to sing, beautiful energy radiated to every corner of the theater. Listening to some of my old, favorite songs, I felt lifted and grateful for the reprieve from the harsh realities of life right now.
Later, as I walked out of the theater and looked up at the whisper of a new moon quietly sinking into the western sky, I had a glimmer of hope, a golden thread of possibility that the suffering will end and healing can begin.
Hold onto that thread, I told myself as I stood staring at the moon.
When I get caught up in scrolling through the horrific images of war or reading the painful stories of those suffering, I remind myself of how social media works. The algorithms that determine what populates our feeds are designed to keep us frightened and pissed off because these are the feelings that generate wealth. The energy of fear and anger keeps eyeballs glued to the screen while energizing what we don’t want – more pain and suffering.
I want to generate peace with my attention. I want a solid, unbreakable cease-fire in Ukraine. I want calm and sanity to be the order of the day. While it’s important to stay informed and to donate in any way we can, I want to always remember that my greatest contribution may in fact be my attention and energy.
These days, when I go to bed, I imagine millions of people focused on peace, on a world beyond the rule of tyrannical, autocratic power. Like Rickie, I open my mind and allow my creativity to radiate out as a stream of loving, fierce energy that brings healing to the world.
You have that same energy. Please put it to good use.
