Because I have ventured into the world of Femmepreneurship in a bigger way in the past two years , I have continued to notice a trend that keeps gaining momentum, and keeps infuriating me.
There are so many life coaches, healers and authors out there now who generously offer inspiring quotes on their Facebook and Twitter pages. They write useful self help articles online. They mean well, these coaches, healers and authors. I know they do.
Their platform is the power of self accountability, self choice for more positive outcomes, and self responsibility. The thing is, their universal truth is not so universal.
These life coaches have a few things in common, as far as I can tell:
- They can eat
- They can turn on their faucets
- They can leave their home without worrying whether they or their family will be shot / hatcheted / burned to death
- They have a place to call home
- They can speak freely , become educated and own their own businesses pretty much unencumbered by military governments, secret police, religious zealotry, or rampant subjugation of women.
I am not saying these life coaches did not overcome major obstacles in their own lives.Many of them have come out of extremely dire circumstances to get where they are, and yes, they did make a choice . I just don't accept their adamant belief that we can all just "choose differently" without advocacy in place every step along the way. Advocacy such as relief organizations, medical support, food and medical supplies, social services, experts in therapy and healing , therapeutic organizations to help with trauma survivors, volunteers willing to transport people, protect people and transform unlivable conditions.
Let's take a broader look.
Starvation:
According to www.worldhunger.org, 1 out of 9 people in the world is starving. When a person is starving, their brain atrophies, muscles are in constant pain, swallowing is virtually impossible, organs waste away, apathy and hopelessness become all consuming, and the ability to connect with humanity is severely diminished. A starving person does not have the energy to "choose their own love, happiness or joy".
Running water:
According to www.water.org 1 in 9 people do not have access to safe water.
Over 2,000 people die daily (many children) from cholera, diarrhea and other unsafe water related diseases. A person living near contaminated water, or with little to no water, may not be redirecting their thoughts to "choose their own love, happiness or joy". They may need to address their dehydration first.
War:
According to an article in the Independent, only 11 countries in the world live in relative peace. People in war torn countries, living in refugee camps, of course still find love, happiness and joy. After all, the human spirit is miraculously resilient. But, a person living in a war zone may have a few other things to contend with along the way besides their "free choice to love, happiness and joy". And even those who come back from war , our veterans, may be in such a state of PTSD that "choosing love and happiness" may take second rank to overcoming the belief that they are not under constant attack.
Refugee Camps:
Close to one billion people do not have a home. Many are living in makeshift shelters and refugee camps to escape violence in their homeland. Conditions in refugee camps can be very harsh: dry heat, overcrowding, disease, lack of safety for girls and women. Surviving the day may be someone's greatest achievement. Knowing that someone such as an "expert life coach" has given them the go ahead to choose their own happiness may somehow not have gently fallen on their ears.
Human Trafficking:
There are still over 30 million slaves worldwide. Slaves- people who have no choice and are owned by someone else, are human beings treated as chattel . Of these 30 million, 2 million are children. Sex trafficking is a $32 billion dollar industry. So.... I am guessing that :"choosing love , happiness and joy" would be nice, but not necessarily at the top of the list for a woman with no rights and no options.
My point is, unless a person's basic needs are met, anecdotes such as 'Choose Love." "Choose Your Own Happiness" and "To be happy, you need to make your own happiness" are insufficient .
I say to those who speak these anecdotes-
"Choose to serve those who NEED love, food, a home, safety, hope.'
This Labor Day, as we get ready to honor our those who stood up for workers, let's remember that Choosing Love and Choosing Happiness can only happen when we first choose to acknowledge all that has been freely given to us.
Namaste
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