2020: All R I S E.
“Our planets forests, if given the chance, are almost unbelievably resilient. Perhaps the best proof we have of their ability to recover can be seen on the site of one our greatest disasters.”
If I am really hungry, I’m more inclined to watch things on Netflix that I otherwise wouldn’t choose to watch. On this particular day, I bypassed the 61% match notification and decided to watch Our Planet, episode 8 titled “Forests.” I’m finishing my brussel sprouts when the episode reaches this section on the resiliency of forests. I perk up. I begin learning about the Chernobyl Disaster. The Chernobyl Disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on April 26th, 1986 when one of the four reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded. It turned this utopian vision of the future into a ghost town. Over 100,000 million people were immediately evacuated, never to return. The fallout zone was declared uninhabitable for the next 20,000 years.
Yet, despite the radiation something remarkable has happened. Within only a decade, vegetation began to germinate in this ruined city. Animals began to appear. Life returned. Within only 20 years, scientist reported the appearance of animals similar to that in the wilder parts of Europe, even endangered species have risen back to life. It’s the presence of wolves that brings this message home. There are now seven times more wolves within the vicinity of where the disaster occurred, compared to outside. What was once dead has risen, more abundantly.
Recovering from the Last Decade.
If you aren’t as moved by the resiliency of the forest as I am, in the face of the predictions and expectations of experts, then maybe you’d be more inspired with your gaze inward. As 2020 approaches, as we welcome another decade, what have you lost in the span of the last ten years? What disaster has swept through your life? My world was rocked, unexpectedly on September 13th, 2010. It was when my spiritual journey really began. I didn’t think I was going to recover. Because of the fragile state I was in, any small obstacle would easily trigger a state of despair. Anxiety consumed my life. *Eventually, what I was experiencing internally manifested externally. I had reached the lowest I had ever been. Honestly, I did not think there was a way to escape the darkness I was experiencing inside.
(*NOTE: Our inner and outer worlds are a constant reflection of one another. Be aware of what you invite into the Universe of your own mind and spirit, sooner or later what you see inwardly will manifest in your body, relationships, and the experiences you have in this world.)
As I look back over what I perceived as a disaster, I’m also encouraged to look at where I am standing today. There is no way I could have predicted such a return to life, filled with grace, peace and purpose. Likely, it’s against the expectations of some. But most of all, I stand in a place that is completely against my own expectations. You see, prior to my own Chernobyl disaster in 2010, I didn’t know I had transforming abilities. If we aren’t put in a tight spot, in a situation that makes us fall to our knees…then how will we ever know we were born to rise? I stand having transformed the ashes of my past. I stand knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, we ALL have the ability to transform darkness into light. Actually, to be in flow and on purpose, you MUST. Like the Chernobyl disaster, I stand haven risen and returned with more life than ever.
You are no longer endangered. Believe that. Take it with you.
If you’ve been looking for a sign or a message to confirm what you’re feeling inside, let this be your message. Let this be the flame you use to light your own candle of love, peace, expectation, and resilience. It’s time. It’s time to take the lessons you’ve encountered within this past decade and bring it with you as you RISE. Realize, that as you RISE, you’re rising in a spirit of transformation. Remember, it’s because of the nuclear explosion that occurred at Chernobyl that makes this story worth telling, it’s because of the devastation that it is now a story of inspiration. You’re rising having fought against the odds and expectations and, because of this, it makes you more powerful, resilient, and whole. Take the lessons, life is returning. Take the lessons, you’re now overflowing in places that were once void. Take the lessons, you are no longer endangered. It’s time. It’s time for us all to RISE, to RISE into a new year. To RISE into a new decade. Take it all, let’s RISE together. Let’s RISE into our purpose.