LOVE. In the darkness, I started to see LOVE.
On Friday, November 13, my mom called asking if the family I know in Paris were safe. I don’t watch the news and I had not been on social media for the past few hours. I had no idea what she was talking about. So I did the natural thing… I picked up my phone and went to CNN.com.
And that’s when the horror started seeping into my body.
Terrorist. Evil. Hatred. No Regard to Human Life.
Innocent People Killed for Choosing Joy. For Choosing to Love Life.
The fear was rapidly seeping into my veins as it slowly began to suffocate my heart.
FEAR had arrive at my doorstep and before I knew what was happening, I was surrounded by darkness. I could barely breathe.
I don’t even remember how much time I spent Friday night and early Saturday morning switching between CNN.com and BBC.com. I was in fear fog. Watching and reading the details, as they unfolded, was drowning me in fear.
And then I remembered… LOVE.
LOVE. In the darkness, I started to see LOVE. I saw Parisians using the Twitter hashtag #PorteOuverte (Open Door), offering shelter to those who needed a safe place to stay for the night. I saw LOVE pouring in from around the world via Facebook posts, tweets, and Instagram images.
And then I remembered I was not alone.
Saturday morning I remembered I did not have to be a prisoner of FEAR. I remembered the vow I took at the beginning of the year to CHOOSE ONLY LOVE.
This was the moment for me to walk my talk. To choose love over fear. I have been “training” for this moment. I had the tools to choose love over fear, and it was time to use them!
The first thing I did was reach out to my soul sisters – a group of women I’m been sitting in circle with for the past 13 moons. Women who know me – I mean REALLY know me. They have the ability to see me, when I sometimes cannot see myself.
And so I reached by sending the following group text message…
“I watched a little too much of the Paris news and fear is seeping in. I’m leaning into you to be reminded of only love… knowing that in the darkness is when I need to shine the brightest. Thank you for witnessing me in the midst of my looming fear. Sending you all love and choosing only love. xoxo”
And that was when the magic of Choosing Only Love started to emerge.
My soul sisters reminded me to shine my light. They reminded me to keep leaning in to love and to allow my light to blanket the Earth with love. They witnessed my willingness to stay open – to choose love – even in the darkness. They reminded me that it was (more than) enough for me to be exactly who I am.
They reminded me that it was okay for me to abstain from watching the news. They reminded me that by not watching the news, I was not turning my back on Paris and the victims of the violence. By not watching the news, I was intentionally choosing to stay away from the media fear grid.
They reminded me of my own force field of love. That I could choose to drown in fear (an old pattern that no longer serves me) or I can choose to BE LOVE. I can choose to shine my light… to send loving energy to the victims in Paris. They reminded me that I can choose to beam golden white light into the darkness.
I can choose NOT TO HIDE FROM FEAR.
I can choose to listen to my heart-knowing, which is and will always be about CHOOSING ONLY LOVE.
This is what I know for sure right now…
NOW is the time for each of us to radiate our light.
NOW is the time for each of us to burn brighter.
NOW is the time for each of us to choose love over fear… no matter what.
And if you get sucked in by the fear (like I did), know that you too have tools to help you realign your body, mind, heart, and soul back to LOVE.
- Lean into to loved ones.
- Spend time with loved one.
- Meditate.
- Journal.
- Take a salt bath.
- Return to nature.
- See all the beauty around you.
And you can always reach out to me (even if you don’t know me personally). Email me. Schedule a 20 minute call with me. Send me a Tweet. I will always be available to remind YOU of the tools you have available to you to choose only love.
These 3 must-watch inspirational YouTube videos were created after the Paris attacks. They are worth watching and are great reminders to choose love over fear.
#1. Love Over Fear. Meet Ammar, Thomas, Matt and Derin. They are originally from different countries and were all affected by the terror attacks. They do an incredible job reminding the world that terrorism wins if we are divided and that the world wins when we stay strong and stay together.
#2. They Might Have Guns But We Have Flowers. A father and his little son share the most heart-warming conversation during an interview at the scene of the Bataclan attacks. Another beautiful reminder that love will always win, not violence.
#3. Madonna’s Prayer for Paris. Madonna took an emotional break from her Stockholm concert to pay tribute to the victims of the terror attacks in Paris. This is another beautiful reminder that only love will change the world.
I am sending you all love.
Beautiful post, Stacey. As you know, I shared a couple of those videos too. Last night, Tom and I had a dinner at a friend’s house. It was not only fun, with great food, but enlightening conversation with people from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and France. Thank you for teaching me about choosing love. It is surely becoming my life’s theme these days.
Love this Stacey and yes I am all into choosing love and have been using ho’oponopono at this time to bring more love in and spread more love to the world. as the song goes what the world needs now is love xxoo
Stacey–I HAD to share, tweet and get this around. I hold Paris so dear. And, like you, was horrified. And only choose love which transmutes fear. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Much love. Laurie
Stacey thank you for sharing your love and compassion and reminding us to put our focus on love. Paris is also near and dear to my heart and it broke my heart to see it terrorized. Love always prevails and heals our broken hearts. Blessings and love Debra