Interestingly, we live in a world where we are so connected. In this connection, we are prone to see the suffering of others thousands of miles away, just because we have a phone in our hands.
Because we see what’s going on, the one question that people tend to ask is if I’m caring enough.
The brain is a tricky thing because it works on a “projection-perception loop.” It projects a world of chaos and then expects us to have emotional distress because of it. The emotions we carry tend to be a mixture of horror, pity, and helplessness.
There are times when we see these things and may not react as we are “supposed to.” This creates another emotion: the guilt of not suffering enough.
This idea comes from the zero-sum game we play. We believe that if I am comfortable while others are not, I am “taking” their comfort. This comes with the flawed logic that if I suffer mentally and feel guilty, then I’m balancing the scales.
This logic assumes that peace is a finite resource like food or gasoline. By having peace of your own while others suffer means you’ve stolen it.
We must remember that peace isn’t an object. It’s infinite and indivisible. We can’t take peace away from another. We only “lose” it by focusing on the guilt of having it.
In this connected world, we are told that we need to be informed. It’s as though watching tragedy is a form of respect for the victims. Your ego convinces you that looking away from the nightmare is a sin, while looking at it with horror is a virtue.
Using Action to Solve Guilt
Guilt is typically the catalyst for action. If you feel guilty for not caring, go post something on social media or rally with others at an event.
The false belief here is that the action will produce the spiritual result of peace. Instead, every good deed that’s done will only reinforce the tragedy that has taken place. No amount of work can make up for the lack of love in another person’s mind.
That’s not to put down activists. Some of us were born with this duty. Others are meant to be quiet observers. Most of the time, these quiet observers are shamed for not participating in the activists’ activities. The activist then positions themselves as better than the observer by saying things like, “to be silent is to be complicit.”
The apathy, or lack of apathy, we feel is an individual personality trait we have. To judge a person for not reacting to a global crisis is like judging a toaster for not playing music. It just isn’t the person’s function. Yet we tend to project onto others, believing that if you feel a certain way about a situation, others should feel the same.
We have to remember that empathy isn’t joining in on pain. If your friend falls into a pit, and you jump in with them, you haven’t helped. There are now two people in a pit.
A Change in Perspective
To be apathetic about a cause is to feel guilty for not doing what’s needed to avoid that guilt. This isn’t the truth. The truth perspective is that remaining calm through chaos is a virtue.
By not reacting to negative events in life, we are saying that the news report is no more real than the love in our hearts. By remaining peaceful, even in the face of what appears to be tragedy, we are telling the world that its events can’t shift who we are.
If something bad happens to you and I don’t react, please don’t take it as apathy. Instead, I’m trying to be an example that says I see what is happening, but I refuse to believe that it has destroyed you.
I believe this is the only mindset in which I can extend love where needed.
We’ve already said that peace is infinite and indivisible, so the perception is to look at what has not changed. Amid the constant stream of emergencies, peace remains.
A New Call to Action
When tragedy hits, the first thought is that this is horrible. I feel guilty. The new call to action is to see tragedy as a reason to spread love and peace.
If we are to be as devastated as the world, we would be in the streets with signs that read F*ck Whomever. We’d have no room to do what is actually productive, and that’s give the peace you already have.
By remaining in peace, you are not ignoring the issue; you are refusing to agree with it. Instead, you are offering a perspective to those who only see themselves as victims.
The untold burden of responding to every global tragedy is the belief that I must care about everything, respond to everything, and fix everything on my own.
The new mindset is to be present with the limitation of not knowing and acting only when feeling moved to act. Guilt can’t be the catalyst. Because guilt will make you even more guilty if you decide to stay still.
Sacrifice is impossible. Sacrificing your joy to “honor” those in pain doesn’t really help anyone. To do so only puts yourself in the pit with them.
The greatest blessing you can offer the world in need is to demonstrate your abundance. This abundance is proof that it is possible for them, too.
Before signing off, I ask you this: “What would happen if you stopped apologizing for your peace?” The tragedies still occur whether you are aware or not. You can’t save the world by feeling guilt. The world will not be saved by more guilty people.
Questions and Responses
The ego would have you believe that peace is a finite pie. If you have a slice, someone else goes hungry. But Peace is an attribute of your true nature; it is infinite. Staying peaceful doesn’t take anything away from a person in a crisis. In fact, if you abandon your peace to join them in their horror, you are simply adding more darkness to the collective dream. Your peace is the only evidence that a way out of the nightmare exists.
The world teaches that watching a tragedy is a form of “witnessing.” However, constantly staring at the “nightmare” only reinforces the error in your mind. Respect for your brothers and sisters is found in seeing their eternal strength and innocence, not in fixating on the destruction of their bodies. You can be aware of an event without letting it dictate the state of your Soul.
Guilt is a shaky foundation for any action. When you act out of guilt, you are trying to “pay off” a debt, which only reinforces the idea that a “sin” occurred. When you act out of Love and Peace, your help is truly helpful because it doesn’t come with the heavy baggage of pity. You don’t need guilt to be kind. When you are at peace, you act because it is the natural extension of who you are, not because you are afraid of being a “bad person.”
The world loves to judge “functions.” It wants every toaster to play music. But you are not a body defined by social media posts or public outcries. If your current path is to be a quiet observer, that is your function. True silence is not a lack of care; it is a refusal to join the chorus of judgment.
It starts with a simple realization: “I am not what I am seeing.” When the horror, pity, or helplessness arises, look at the Watcher of those emotions. Those feelings belong to the “person” you think you are, but the real You is unchanged. Remind yourself: “My sadness does not heal the world, but my Peace offers it a miracle.”
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