Has life seemed a bit intense to you lately? Like your plate has even more on it and there’s not enough time in the day? Are things coming up with you or people you know, like challenges, dramas and issues, on top of the regular everyday stuff? Do you feel like you want to go crawl under the covers and wait for things to calm down? You’re not alone!

There’s a lot of energy going on now in our world. It’s affecting us on personal levels, as groups, as communities, countries and even on a global scale. You may be seeing it and/or feeling it. That’s because we are moving towards a shift. The shake ups, challenges and dramas are actually things to help us, a kind of wake-up call. They’re helping us all to see and let go of what is no longer working for us and open the door to something better.

These wake-up calls can be challenging, especially if they are about things that have been buried deep or are uncomfortable to face. Issues of all sorts are coming up – health, relationship, work, emotional, spiritual, political, environmental, social. It can feel overwhelming at times. I’m seeing it in the lives of my family, friends and colleagues. It’s happening around the world. And I’m feeling it too.

While some of these wake-up calls can be intense, they are nothing to panic about or fear. See them for what they are – opportunities. Opportunities to heal, shift, evolve, grow and learn. A chance to feel better, to have a better life.

These wake-up calls are saying “hey look at this, I’m showing you something to help you”. Don’t focus solely on the challenge, drama or issue that has come up, remember it is only the catalyst. There is something more going on beneath the surface. Start asking yourself some questions like:

• Do I keep feeling the same thing(s) over and over?
• Do I keep having the same kinds of relationships?
• Does the same thing keep happening to me?
• Am I always finding myself in the same situation?
• Do I really want to keep feeling this way or experiencing this?

Start connecting the dots. Soon you’ll find that what seemed like a bunch of random things are actually connected. Look for the pattern. Now you can really get to the heart of the matter and change or heal it.

You may be thinking “hey, that’s great, but how can healing myself help the rest of the world?” Taking care of yourself on any level – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or energetic – is self-love. You are nurturing yourself and that in turn extends out to others, to the world. People that love, honor and respect themselves love, honor and respect others. You can’t give to others what you don’t have within you.

And the more love you have within you, the less fear you are holding on to. If we want to find sustainable solutions to problems going on around us, we need the people who are working on them to be coming from a space of love, not a space of fear. Whether that is you, activists, employers, religious leaders, politicians, world leaders, etc. Because the problems going on, whether at work, in your neighborhood, in your country or the world, they all boil down to some form of fear. Fear of something being taken from me, fear of not enough of something, feeling hurt and lashing out, fear of change. You can’t solve anything at the level it was started. So you can’t solve or overcome fear with fear. You do it with love.

That is why personal healing is important. If we want to see change, then we have to start with ourselves. The more we love ourselves, the less willing we are to accept scraps when it comes to our happiness and wellbeing. We strive for better for ourselves and also for others. And it starts with awareness. So see these wake-up calls and use them to your advantage, to heal. Love yourself enough to say “I want better, I deserve better”. Have the courage to make positive changes in your life, knowing that as you help yourself, you’re also helping others and the world!