mannabliss Medicine for the Soul January/February 2017 | Page 35

Leadership takes into account the wholeness of the system, not merely one compartmentalized part;

Leadership connects people together and forms allies through communication and deep listening;

Leadership respects and honors all people, regardless of sex, color, religious beliefs, etc;

Leadership is grounded and mature

and speaks with calm, patient understanding;

Leadership considers planet and people over profit and embraces conscious capitalism and opportunity that considers all aspects of life while prioritizing what is truly important.

- Valerie Silidker

And so, we grieve.

We feel the pain of each person who is taunted for their faith or judged for the color of their skin. We feel the fear of the young girl who is grabbed and treated inferior because she is a woman. We feel the suffering of our planet and of each being without clean water, clean air, healthy food.

This pain, this grief, that so many feel right now, is not just an individual pain. This is a collective pain. We are grieving for our world.

Please listen to what is alive in you right now. Honor that. Know that the depth you are feeling is an opening to the tremendous amount of love for our world and your passion for justice. Explore it, hold it, breathe with it. And when you are ready, take the deep wisdom that it reveals and allow it to move you into sacred action.

This deep manipulation of our mental and spiritual environment, which keeps people from trusting their own experience, from speaking the truth of what they see and feel and know is happening in our world, has revealed itself through tear-stained epiphanies.

So many are awakening to the numbness of hearts and minds that is so present in our society. We do not want to feel numb; we do not want to be part of this dead system.

We cannot continue with business as usual.

There is a collective awareness greater than there has ever been before, and it is painful to shed that layer of skin that has held us small for so long.

Because we know the qualities of true leadership are compassionate, emotionally intelligent, connected and wise.

These are not the qualities present in the future leadership of this country. And we ache for that. We know, ultimately, that it is within ourselves that we must embody these qualities and, still, we long to see them in someone who holds the position as a leader of our country and influencer of our world.

MANNABLISS MEDICINE FOR THE SOUL

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