“Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” – Author Unknown

It’s amazing to see in current political situations globally that lives seem to matter less when financial concerns get in the way of humanitarian rights. Take for instance how global super powers only seem to involve themselves in another countries plight unless there is something beneficial in it for them. I believe this is why Tibet has gone unaided in it’s 60 year long Chinese occupation.

Last night I watched a very uncomfortable documentary on Tibet. As a child I grew up in Dharamsala, the home to the Dalai Lama. I attended a Tibetan boarding school amongst over a thousand Tibetan children. I recall feeling blessed to be western. In the Western world it seems that Tibetan culture and the Dalai Lama are very much appreciated and yet no government has intervened with China to end the massive human rights and environmental issues. 

Are convenience and money more important than helping our fellow human beings who have lost their country and lives in the millions? Yet, more and more, I see courageous souls venturing out beyond safe comfort zones, boldly stepping out of their shells to create change. I see visionaries, therapists, artists, counsellors, teachers and entrepreneurs who through their life’s work are creating massive shifts in the world by affecting each person they touch.

When I watched the outright blatant abuse of human rights in Tibet where 97 Tibetans burned themselves alive in protest against the Chinese occupation, I found myself afraid to step up and be a part of a necessary change. What if like John Lennon, Gandhi and John F. Kennedy, I also lose my life working for the same changes they tirelessly worked for? Would it be worth it? Would there be far reaching impacts that would justify my fearlessness?

Creativity begins as we commit to love. Love begins when we are present no matter what. When we accept uncertainty and choose truth regardless of the situation, the darkness that exists in the unconscious collective of humanity is met with undying presence. All elements of humanity can be welcomed and will open our hearts. This is when we become true artists of life. When instead of avoiding the bitter sweet truths, we instead embrace them. It is imperative to honour what exists in all of us  for this is what will recreate our world. ​​

Our creativity must embrace the darkness and find ways to unearth our fullest presence. This is what heals unconscious behaviours that cause such deep suffering. In witnessing intense pain, let it intensify the desire to be in service. To do all it takes to live in presence. Not to rescue, fix, blame or judge, but instead to turn up fully and recreate the world. By accepting that this world is a part of it all. Through a deepest surrender forgiveness begins, Accept the fear, anger and all the spaces where unconsciousness lives. From here action begins to change the world.

Jhana is a published author and illustrator. He draws on ancient wisdom and dreaming that reveal the bridge between consciousness and creativity. Discoveries of the healing capacities carried in painting, yoga, massage, meditation and art therapy inform his practise. He has taught, mentored and exhibited in India, America, Germany and Australia over the past 20 years. His writings have been published in newspapers, magazines and books across California, Byron Bay, Tweed heads and Brisbane.