I am currently sat in my bed, incense lit, light streaming through the windows, and I am engulfed in a sudden state of peace and bliss. I have been ill for a few days and am awaiting the results of my COVID 19 test. Sat here, coffee in hand, reading the Quran with my cat by my side, I am awestruck by the level of gratitude that has awakened in my heart. I have come to realise that I need not fear ANYTHING because everything is up to God and happens in my life for a reason. My home, any possessions I have, and finances, are borrowed to me for this lifetime only, to fulfil my life purpose. They may come and go as I need or no longer need them. 

I have challenged myself to read the big books of all of the world religions in my lifetime. If there is one thing, I have learned during the last few years of the world landscape, it’s that ignorance breeds fear, fear breeds defensiveness’ and hate, hate breeds cruelty and violence, and that is what we have been seeing in the news for the last few years.

I feel truly blessed to have my sight and the ability to read and write. I feel truly blessed to live in a lifetime in which I have access to technology and books, and the means to communicate with millions of people at the touch of a button and to have free speech. I am blessed that I was born white in this lifetime, and I haven’t had to deal with discrimination and cruelty because of the colour of my skin, like my beloved brothers and sisters of the world have. My whiteness has given me privilege and power (unfortunately, it should never have been this way) and this has given me the responsibility to use these blessings to speak up, educate and be an ally for my black brothers and sisters in humanity. Also, to speak up and out against cruelty and the bullying of any living thing in whatever circumstance.

I had been feeling hopeless and furious for many weeks, but my sickness gave me space to reflect and to pray. My strength and courage have returned to me, although I still feel some existential dread and anxiety with the way humanity is going and with COVID 19. I feel I can’t plan too far into the future because it may be a different world by next month let alone a few years. But there is courage in the knowledge that all we have ever really had, all that was ever real, is the current moment, this second, now. Therein lies the power. 

What can I use this moment for? What thought can I switch to? Will I choose prayer or vitriol? What is one thing that I can do differently to reverse my mindset? How can I make a difference at this moment?

Who will fight with me? Who will engage and support the incredibly spiritual act of fighting and campaigning for social justice and love?

There is indeed plenty for all if we eradicate greed from the planet. If we act with love, and take only what we need, and share the surplus.

In love, strength, and power,

Lucy Loizou.

Image Credit:

Christine’s Healthy World