***Your Own Inner Work Affects the Whole World!

By Dr Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
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"Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What would happen if we each learned to take 100% responsibility for our own feelings and needs - learning to attend to our feelings with compassion for ourselves, and extending that compassion to others? What would happen if each of us were conscious enough to sweep in front of our own door – which means we would be conscious enough not to dump our filth on the rest of the world?

I love to imagine the possibilities!

• Large corporations - such as Monsanto, Dow, the mass market food industry and factory farms, the drug companies, insurance companies, the oil industry, the banks (to name just a few) – would not be harming the planet with their greed. Instead, they would use their creativity, talent and resources to create health and wellbeing for everyone. Degenerative diseases would likely be a thing of the past if keeping our environment, our food and our water clean was a high priority of all industry. 
   
• Child abuse, domestic violence and crime would be things of the past. When we learn to take loving care of ourselves, we cannot harm others.
   
• Homelessness and starvation would not exist. When we each learn to take loving care of ourselves, we find ourselves extending our love out to others, and we cannot emotionally or spiritually cause or tolerate this kind of suffering in our fellow human beings.
   
• Addictions to alcohol, drugs, food and sex would be things of the past. When we learn to love ourselves and take responsibility for our feelings, we don’t need to turn to addictions to numb out our feelings, or attempt to fill our emptiness with substances and processes.
   
• Most marriages would flourish, since self-abandonment and the resulting controlling behavior is the main reason marriages fall apart.
   
• Most of the health care problems we now have on our planet would likely be non-existent if each person was taking loving care of their mind, body and soul. When people take responsibility for their emotional and physical wellbeing, they are far more likely to attain or regain their health.
   
• All people would have an equal opportunity to pursue their true calling and manifest their gifts and talents.
   
• There would be far less loneliness in the world. When we learn to lovingly connect with ourselves, we can then lovingly connect with others. People would not feel so alone when facing the painful challenges of life, such as loss of loved ones, or loss of health or limb. There would always be caring people to turn to for comfort and support.
   
• Worrying about finances would be a thing of the past, since if we each took responsibility for ourselves, we would then extend our compassion and support out to others. We would create a sense of emotional and financial safety that few feel now.
   
• Creativity in the arts and sciences would flourish!
   
• We would all have a lot more fun – and a lot more time for fun!

These are my fantasies of what the world would be like if each of us learned to compassionately take full responsibility for our own feelings and needs, and extended our compassion out to others. What are your fantasies?

Instead of looking to see if others are sweeping in front of their doors, why not just focus on your own? Why not become a role model of personal responsibility for your own well being? This is the very best choice we can each make for the planet.