Everyone Wants To Feel Safe

This morning, four people and myself drove to Oakland to film for our next Youtube video. This video is going to be, ‘It’s You And Me.’ Not far from our merge onto I580 East, we could clearly see that the Westbound side of the freeway was closed. Which, in itself looks weird when you are used to so much traffic all the time! I was not driving, so I did look to see what was happening. There was a white truck on the side of the road riddled with bullet holes. There were thousands of police cars (okay, I am exaggerating, but only a little). We kept driving, but the image of that truck stayed with me all day.

We found a great place to film. However, after 2 1/2 hours we only got 13 people to say yes. Usually we are able to film 20 people per hour. With the recent unrest in Oakland, specifically related to the Bart police trial, it felt as if there was an air of intense somberness and reflection on this day.

I silently said my prayers of love and healing. I asked the powers that be to help me to do whatever I can with the life I have left to make this a safe world for everyone.

Imagine this simple truth.

Everyone wants the same things.

If you can truly absorb and embody this one truth, it will dramatically change the way you see the world. It will also possibly alter the way you interact with the world.

The one point I will discuss now, is that everyone wants to be safe. It certainly sounds simple enough. However, industry after industry are supported and made wealthy because of this truth. Because it is not so simple. Everyday, each of us spends a great deal of time, automatically working towards protecting ourselves. And, if we are not proactively protecting ourselves, we are defending ourselves. It can be from weather, from the boss, from the neighbors, from getting ill and more. You get the idea.

Our current favorite method of protection is to make others afraid of us to create a sense of safety for ourselves. Have you ever noticed that being mean is generally preceded by fear?

Our government has developed a vast armed forces power in order to protect us. We have law enforcement that works to keep us safe. We have religion that gives us comfort. We have pills and supplements that keep us healthy. We have insurance. We have safety belts. We have locks. We have alarm systems.

And while implementing many of these things are a part of keeping us safe, the feeling of truly being safe evades us all.

Imagine that everyone deserves to feel safe.
Everyone deserves to be safe.

Imagine, if instead of working so hard to defend yourself, you worked really hard to make those around you feel safe. And, I don’t mean by becoming a vigilante. It is not about putting yourself at risk.

Let’s just start with an inner shift. One where you slowly and painstakingly begin to change the way you approach your world. This shift would mean that you would be willing to make every effort in order to give the message to other people that you are a safe person to be around. You can do this in so many ways. You can do this by showing them your trust of them. You can begin a dialog about this. You can take steps to let them know that you really care about them and their well-being. You can make direct eye contact, without being invasive. You can truly listen to them. You can offer a hug, again being sensitive to their response. These are only a few ways!

Of course, there are certain events and occurrences that we cannot control. So, developing a strong sense of acceptance and love is another step towards a life with limited fear. I will write more about this in future blogs!

I so love each of you. And pray for your safety and happiness.

Sivan