As I was packing for our vacation, I wondered which book to bring along. My gaze wandered across my bookshelf and finally settled on a book I had read nearly 20 years ago. After years of working on myself, this book turned out to be the final piece of the puzzle I needed to finally find the door leading out of my prison of self-doubt and fears. It prepared me to find the key within myself. I took it off the shelf, opened it to a random page, and read the paragraph my eyes fell on. The book is called Your Sacred Self by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer. The excerpt is from the chapter “The Keys to Higher Awareness” and the subchapter “Observing the World Around You”:

… You can extend this witness position toward all of the things that you find so upsetting in the world. The wars will go on and on, independent of your inner turmoil. Being the global witness might actually help to create a collective energy of peace. Certainly your anger isn’t going to eradicate wars.
The same is true for violence, hunger, disease, and all of the “troubles” we experience in our world. By becoming the witness, you do not become passive or uncaring. You become the observer who sees what is happening for what it is, and who sees the solutions too.

It felt as if the universe were speaking to me. The timing is perfect. It is both a message and a tool that helps us not to despair in these crazy times, which feel more like a bad movie than real life. Actually, Dr. Dyer’s words speak for themselves, and I’m sure everyone has their own immediate thoughts on what he’s written. Still, I’d like to briefly share mine with you.

I’ve often written about not judging and instead becoming an observer—especially when we’re under pressure or panicking. The passage I shared above sums up both of these points. Because when we start observing, we automatically detach mentally from the situation. It no longer controls us. We still see what’s happening, but without it draining our energy. We don’t feel overwhelmed and keep a clearer head. Depending on the situation, we’re more likely to see a solution because we aren’t shrouded in a fog of fear and stress. Even if we can’t resolve the situation on our own, we at least preserve our inner peace. Even if a storm is raging around us, an inner sense of peace may not calm it, but at least it doesn’t fuel it and keeps us strong and aware.

Being at peace within ourselves doesn’t hurt anyone, but it can help everyone. Peace is what we need most these days. Let’s become observers and stop fueling our anger, stress, or fear. Let’s step back and observe ourselves in a given situation. After all, the situation is part of our lives, but it is not part of who we are… because we can detach ourselves from it.

In Love and Light

P.S. After all, I hadn’t brought a book with me on vacation. It was just the thought of bringing one that mattered, because it led me to that short paragraph and resulted in this post.