THE ACTIVIST EMPATH – Never Stop Asking Questions During These Transitional Times

2020 and beyond – We are living in what feels like a new era, even when it was slowly building up long before CV. A time for personal and collective transformations…

A big part of being an activist is being curious and wanting the freedom to ask questions. I remember being the annoying child who always wanted to find out more. As I grew older, I realised that many people did not feel comfortable with me doing this, even for the most simplest of things. As loving and as caring as many of these people were, it just seemed “normal” to accept or go along with what we see around us. I even remember a teacher telling me that “one day you will grow up and see the world differently.”

So what does it mean to “be a grown-up” then? Yes, I have grown up (I am in my 40s now) but I refuse to “grow up” if the definition means I am not going to learn, explore, expand and try new things – or dare to live my life the way I choose to (rather than what was expected of me by others). Growing up is being fully responsible for our choices – and that involves reflection. And with that comes the questions… A normal part of what it is to really grow up and keep evolving. Life is not perfect or a certain way… it is beautiful for all these things too.

I know I am not the only one who has been through this. And… it saddens me to feel that this is a big part of our conditioning as our age increases. We must accept how things are “supposed to be”, otherwise we are grouped and labelled as being the rebellious and difficult one.

It could be for any number of reasons that might seemingly act as a barrier to our freedom to ask and explore… Our nationality, our class, our skin color, our gender, our sexuality etc. and/or the privilege that some groups still have over others in the system that we live in. But on a personal level, we also have the choice to question that too – In our own Shadow work and into the collective.

Being an empath, highly sensitive person/HSP, sensitive soul can often add a whole new layer to the experience. I know one of the things I have valued the most is the ability to observe, read between the lines, listen, empathise and trust my intuition when situations come up. These are all things I see in other empaths and HSPs too. It does not mean I am perfect and have all the answers but I am happy to still be a work in progress at all times – Again, this requires deep reflection work – and the questions.

Then there are times when asking a question can actually make a small change. I remember years ago, there was a turning point in the way I chose to react to insults – In this case it was a racist comment from a woman in a local shop. My instant reaction would have been to swear and be angry, which I am sure would have given this person a lot of joy. Instead, I asked her a reflection question as a response which completely flustered her and made her stop. Now she was quiet and asking her Self questions. When I saw her again, she still seemed confused as I continued to do my regular routines. To my surprise, a year later she greeted me with a smile and carried on walking. I have no idea what clicked in her head but that is for her to work out, not me. Asking reflection questions is one of my ways of responding to anything or anyone that triggers me.

In the world we live in now, things feel more divided than ever before – for many reasons. The middle ground is thin. We have had a lot of time to take a collective deep breath and feel the tight contractions and small expansions. If you want to sink in deeper, we can see how the astrology of the times now mirrors history – especially the Saturn-Uranus Square (Watch and Read More) where division is part of the process of evolving – and it brings up a lot of triggers, from the personal centre to the collective perimeters of our world. Factors that play with these movements are in our daily lives, like social media (Please watch “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix)

Yet at the same time, the events that are unfolding have brought us a deeper connection to people from all around the world – we have all experienced the pandemic, whereas in the past it used to be that what happened on the other side of the world felt like something far from our own reality.

These are global changes that are going to change everything – and that in its Self is a scary thought if we don’t want change. Change does not have to be a bad thing and sometimes offers a lot of healing too. This is a stage where we often are in cocoon-mode first (with all the Shadow Self aspects that we need to face and evaluate) before we start to see what the longer lasting results are. As I write this in 2021, we are still very much in the thick of it… I am hoping anyone reading this in future will see how the story did reveal its Self.

All this to say – Never stop asking questions and making your own choices! Not everyone will understand or agree with you but its OK. Everyone is going through their own inner-works. Be gentle, with your Self and others!