Kintsugi: the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. 

In This Article:

• Why every generation faces the same “final exam” of humanity
• How your daily choices quietly shape the world around you
• The hidden power of permission and emotional energy
• Why the real battle between good and evil happens within
• How choosing love over fear creates lasting change
  
  

I recall, in university, taking a class entitled The History of Human Conflict, and I must say this was the most distressing class I have ever taken. The curriculum and the professor basically took us through the history of wars on the planet since the beginning of recorded history. It was depressing. And I remember asking myself: when will we ever learn?

And the answer to that question is: we learn now. Always now. Because every generation, every cycle, every individual goes through the same curriculum, the same challenges, the same life lessons. And every generation thinks they are at the worst of it. And they are, for them. And here we are now at the time of another final exam for this particular class.

And yes, when we look around us and at what's taking place in the world, we may think it's all going to hell. Some even say it's Armageddon. I would say it's our karma catching up with us.

However we explain it to ourselves, the fact remains that an upheaval is underway. And that transition is not only in the outside world, but it's also in our inner world. We are all reaping the consequences of our past actions, good and bad, loving and not -- individually and collectively.

Yet the deeper question is not whether the world is broken. The deeper question is what part will we play in healing it. We do not fix the world only by demanding that others change. We begin by choosing, within our own being, what energy we will feed, what thoughts we will support, and what kind of presence we will bring into the world. We fix the world by changing what we choose to embody within ourselves.

Learning Happens Through Choice

There need be no debate about whether what is taking place is good or bad. It simply is our present experience. What's happening is what is. The more important question is how will we act? How will we deal with it? What will be our next steps?

The answer to the question asked in the first paragraph, when will we ever learn, is: right now, this minute and the next minute and the next. We learn with every choice we make, and that is whether we choose love and peace, or war and hatred.

This is not a new situation. It reappears through the cycles of life and of generations in various intensities, sometimes like a sequel to a movie and sometimes like a remake of the same old movie. Yet, as we know, in remakes of old movies, the actors are different, the script is different, and the ending can also be different.

We Are Creating the Script As We Go

And that's where we come in, because we are creating the script as we go along. We are choosing the path we are on and the path we will continue with every action and every word. It's go time! It's always go time.

Our movie may have taken a twist into a horror movie or a tragedy, but because we choose our next steps, we can change that. And we do so by choosing our words, our thoughts, and our actions so that they are steeped in love and forgiveness, not in judgment and retribution. And that includes judgment and forgiveness of self as well as of others.

Life presents us with events, challenges, people, and circumstances. Yet what takes root in us, what shapes us, and what governs our next step is deeply connected to what we allow, what we nourish, and what we choose to dwell upon. That is where our power lives. That is where change begins.

The Power of Permission

Addictions, hatred, rage, and negative energies have no hold upon us until we give them permission, in one way or another. Life can only do to us what we permit it to do within our own being.

In other words, our free will is what protects us. Our permission, our agreement, our giving up of our power of choice is what allows the negative forces to take hold. Our protection lies in our holding on to the choice of good, of love, of faith in our future and in ourselves.

Granting permission can even be unconscious through lack of self-love or not appreciating who we are and who we can be. We might have given permission to others to belittle us or to harm us, through not believing that we deserve better, or through self-criticism, self-judgment, shame, blame, and guilt.

We may not choose what happens, but we do choose what takes root within us. That is where our power resides, and that is where our freedom lives.

It is in our power to forbid the forces of darkness -- hatred, fear, rage -- to touch us, to affect us, to influence us. Therein lies the power of free will. And that's how we change our world.

Choosing the Energies We Live By

In these days where it seems like the forces of hatred and greed and lack of compassion are widespread and at times overpowering, it is extremely important for us to choose to live and express the forces of love and compassion. We have to choose which forces we will allow to inhabit our mind, our body, and our heart.

This moment now is where we draw the line. Always now. Because every action of love and compassion balances out its opposite. So our work is cut out for us because there are a lot of things that need rebalancing and neutralizing -- both in the outside world and within our own self. And we must do so without judgment, blame, and retribution. We have to hold the energy of love through it all.

That may sound too simple for the enormity of the world's problems, yet all collective outcomes begin as individual choices. Thoughts become emotions. Emotions become actions. Actions become habits. Habits become culture. And culture becomes the world we live in. So yes, one choice of love matters. It always matters.

The Front Line Is Within

While we may think we are only individuals and mere peons, we are not, because we are on the front line of our own existence. We are not powerless in the war of good against evil, because that war is also taking place within our own being, within our body and our mind. And this means in our judgments and thoughts and opinions about everything that is going on.

We need to hold on to our center of peace, to our center of love and of compassion, so that the energy we feed in our own being and send out into the world is one of healing, not one of harm.

When the battle is within, our response becomes our most powerful action.

When we send out hatred and judgment and a desire for retribution, we are simply adding to those forces. We are feeding them by our indignation and our wrath and our judgment.

Choosing Forgiveness Over Re-action

Better to do as the Master Jesus did when he said, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Which also brings to mind Mother Teresa saying she would take part in a rally when it was a rally for peace, not one against war. The choice being one of love and compassion and feeding what we desire.

Some of us have accepted hatred and rage into our being, even as we say we despise those who live from those energies. Even when we say we are for peace, for love, for compassion, we harbor hatred and judgment towards "the other side".

However, if the path we tread is one of anger and judgment, even if our stated goal is peace, then we are still participants in the energies of war and hatred. We may have lofty goals and beliefs, but because of the energies we express, we are still living and growing the dark energies.

When we send hateful energies towards others, we are adding more fuel to the fire of hatred and darkness. Best for us to seek to clean our own inner being of these energies so that we can present a counterbalance. And believe me, this is an ongoing process. At least it has been for me. We are still in school on Planet Earth. We are still learning to Love, both ourselves and others, no matter what.

Fear and the Absence of Love

A friend, many years ago, used to say: love is all there is. And at the time, I had trouble accepting that statement because I knew there were wars, there was greed, there was violence, etc.

But I have since come to understand what he meant and what the truth of that saying is. Because those other things are simply the absence of love. They do not exist as a force greater than love. They are a lack of love.

The things that we fear are made of lies. They are a creation of our mind or of someone else's mind. They are a made-up possibility, one we can say no to, one we can refuse, one we can reject.

Anything that we fear is a lie, and it is also a construct of our mind and of other people's egos. As Wayne Dyer said, fear is false evidence appearing real, often paraphrased as false expectations appearing real. Fear demonstrates the absence of faith, the absence of light, and the absence of love.

Darkness cannot exist in a room when we turn on the light. And yes, it is an ongoing task for us to hold the strength of love in our hands, in our heart, in our mind, so that there is no room for the other energies to exist.

When we fill ourselves with light and with love, those other energies cannot exist there. And love becomes what we empower.

The Choice Is Always Ours

That's where the power of free will comes in. It's always up to us what we choose in every moment, in every interaction, in every thought.

Do we choose love or do we choose lack of love? It really is that simple.

Is it easy? No, not always. But it's always our choice, our power, our free will.

We have been told that we have power over the Earth, over nature. That is incorrect. Our power is over our own self. That's it. But that's everything.

Our Only Task

Our task is to renounce hatred, judgment, punishment, etc.

Our task is to love ourselves and to love others, to support the goodness in our heart and in the heart of others, to choose love, to choose peace, to choose compassion.

That is our only job, our only task. And that is how we step into heaven on Earth.

Fear of hell is but another path to hell. The more we focus on the dark energies, whether in fear or anger or judgment, the more we give life to them. There is no need to stand in a dark room and fear the darkness when all we have to do is turn on the light.

It's up to each one of us. One choice at a time. One step at a time. One breath of love at a time.

The world changes when we change what we choose to bring into it. And so the way to fix the world is neither distant nor mysterious. It is here. It is now. It is one loving choice at a time.

Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal empowerment, and inner well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of love. joy, and creativity.

Recommended Books:

Books to further reflection on this article's theme.

* The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power

by Katherine Morgan Schafler

This book reframes control, fear, and self-judgment in a way that complements the theme of choosing compassion over inner conflict. It offers a nuanced approach to self-acceptance and emotional balance in a demanding, chaotic world. 
For more information, reviews, and ordering options:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/059332952X/innerselfcom

* Passion Struck: Twelve Powerful Principles to Unlock Your Purpose and Ignite Your Most Intentional Life

by John R. Miles

A modern guide to intentional living that aligns closely with the above articl: life is shaped by conscious choices. This book helps readers move from passive reaction to active creation, reinforcing the idea that purpose and direction come from within.
For more information, reviews, and ordering options:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0DKPWG9GK/innerselfcom

* The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What People Think of You

by Michael Gervais

This book directly tackles the internal battle you describe—how much of our lives are shaped by fear, judgment, and external validation. It offers a grounded, practical path to reclaiming inner authority and living from choice rather than reaction.

For more information, reviews, and ordering options:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1647823242/innerselfcom

Article Recap

Fixing the world doesn’t begin with changing others—it begins within. Every thought, emotion, and action contributes to the larger whole. By choosing love, compassion, and awareness over fear and judgment, we shift not only our own lives but the collective reality, one choice at a time.

#FixTheWorld #PowerOfChoice #InnerChange #ConsciousLiving #SelfTransformation #EmotionalAwareness #PersonalGrowth #SpiritualAwakening #ChooseLove #MindsetShift #FreeWill #Compassion #Forgiveness