Welcome to the Grow Inward Podcast, I am your host Adrian Petrillo.
I was sent one of the most beautiful videos by my mother recently. It made me so happy and hopeful, and it reminded me of just how something so simple can make you feel so much love and appreciation. It also reminded me that so many of the themes that we hear everyday in our society are not themes that most of us actually even relate to, let alone believe in our hearts. What I saw in this video is what I believe is very representative of the vast majority of us. I realize this obviously does not include everyone, but this is where the majority of us land quite comfortably, and effortlessly. I will include a link to this same video in the show notes.
So many of us have overflowing goodness and compassion within our hearts, that is who we are and want to be. We want to be happy, and to see others be happy. We want to smile, and to see others smile back at us. We want to love, and to be loved. We want to be seen and heard, to feel understood and accepted for exactly who we are and what we love. We want to feel peace for once, peace in ourselves, in our relationships, in our communities, and with each other, both in spite of, and in celebration of all of our amazing differences, desires, talents, flaws, and hearts.
There isn’t one among us who does not somehow want some, or all, of these things. It is so tiring to be made to feel like these things need to be so difficult or impossible, when we know that they are not. It is so tiring to be made to feel as if peace in our lives, in our communities, or between our countries is some kind of fantasy that can never be achieved. It is so tiring to be treated like we are wrong for even daring to think that any of this is possible.
I have always been one who stands for peaceful means and methods when dealing with others with whom I do not agree with. I firmly believe in non-violence when it comes to dealing with sticky situations. I have to be honest though, when I look at the world today, I can’t help but ask myself how can we take our world back from those who have accumulated so much power and influence non-violently? How can you reason with people who do not care about humanity, or have our best interests at heart, especially when they control so many of the systems which we are all seemingly bound to in our daily lives?
I have thought a great deal about this, and after watching this recent video it made me think about something specific that someone had said. They said “seek to understand”, and those three words had such a wonderful and profound meaning to me immediately in that very moment. It was very clear to me right away that this is something that we could all benefit greatly from, if we just make the effort to apply it in our daily lives, maybe now more than ever.
This idea falls directly in line with the very spirit of what I hope to convey in my own work, which is embodied in the very name of this podcast and my website, Grow Inward. Much of the inner work that I have done, and that I speak about, is an attempt to seek to understand. It is in this seeking to understand that we can all find meaningful direction and answers in our lives, and it is why I am so inspired to share this message and many of my own thoughts on this subject.
Growing inward involves so many different aspects of inquiry and growth, which all serve to help us in different and profound ways to improve our lives. Not only do we need to seek to understand ourselves, but we should also make a more significant effort to seek to understand others. The apparent separation and division we all feel is completely self imposed. It is nothing more than a sinister seed which has been planted in our lives by those who desire to sow these outcomes among us. These outcomes provide fertile opportunities to take more and more from each of us, by giving away our power one little piece at a time, and if we allow too much time to pass or power to slip away without action, we may find ourselves with nothing left. I do not believe that this is not who we are, or who we want to be as human beings.
The truth is that we always have a choice, our free will is always our own, and we can choose the direction of this path we find ourselves on. We can engage more authentically with others in an attempt to better understand each other. We can choose to lay down our weapons in favor of coexisting, allowing others the space needed to express the story behind who they are with some room for acceptance of whatever that might be for them, honoring a healthier respect for each others individual freedom and autonomy. The very things that we would all appreciate and welcome for ourselves as well. In this way, we will be doing the opposite of feeding division and separation, we can choose to come closer together and instead seek to understand, rather than judge. I myself am guilty of this at times, but I truly want to do better.
If we can each do this honestly and with an open mind and heart, we may just find that we have much more in common than it appears on the surface? This may not always be the case, but by giving others an opportunity to express themselves freely and to be who they are with dignity and respect, I believe that we are then creating room for the kind of peace that we all would like to experience much more of. We all know of the lessons of living the golden rule, why do we allow those pulling the strings to manipulate us into pointing fingers at each other? We are failing to place our attention in the correct places, it is not with each other where our biggest problems are being created or amplified. Consider where these things are truly coming from in reality. I encourage you to think much deeper about this very important point?
We have become so wrapped up in judgement and anger at the world around us, that we have forgotten to be kind first, and to allow people the opportunity to be who they need to be. How can we receive that ourselves, if we aren’t willing to extend that same courtesy to each other? We can learn a lot more by seeking to understand why others feel the way that they do by talking with them and hearing them, rather than snapping to quick judgements that don’t immediately conform to our own needs or desires.
We are not happy as a society because we are expected to live in ways that can rarely lead to that outcome. We are eternally chasing shadows when we keep looking for answers outside of ourselves, and pushing others away out of anger or judgement. Be careful when pointing a finger at your fellow human, there is a very good chance that they feel the same as you in many ways. The source of many of our biggest issues has been buried behind a veil, invisible and hidden from plain sight to the vast majority of us.
When we can’t see the source, we end up pointing at each other. Check out a great explanation of this thoroughly studied phenomenon presented by Dr. Chris Martensen, which sums this concept up perfectly. I will include a link to that video on his website in the show notes, if you would like to learn more.
When it comes to those who no longer have the collective interests of humanity in mind, maybe we can seek to better understand our relationship to these people, and how we no longer have a healthy relationship with them, and in fact are being abused by them.
The will of the good and just people in our societies have a responsibility to stand up to this abuse. After all, if we do not stand then who will? Counselors and psychologists alike are quick to encourage people to leave abusive relationships that have no hope of changing, why should it be any different for corporations, institutions, or governments? Abuse is abuse, plain and simple? If there is any question on this matter, I encourage you to watch closely what is actually being done, NOT what is being said, and make this determination for yourself.
I know that talking about these subjects can be tiring, and these aren’t the kind of conversations that are fun to have, but we are in danger of losing so much if we do nothing. It is so critically important that we find a way to create the world that we want. So much of this battle begins within ourselves. We must be stronger within, so that we can withstand the constant barrage being waged upon our energy and our will to go on. There is so much beauty in the world that is worth fighting for.
In the spirit of the inspiration behind this episode, which is the idea of seeking to understand others and engaging them in a conversation to cultivate more honest and respectful dialogue, leading to more meaningful connections and acceptance between all of us. I think that sharing something interesting about yourself is a great place to start with anyone, we all have something special to share, and I would like to share something interesting about myself as an example.
I am an avid outdoorsman, and I spend a lot of time in the wilderness hiking in the summer. Well, I also love to write poetry sometimes. I just enjoy writing, and always have. This past summer I did an epic 25 mile backpacking trip by myself out in the wilderness over 3 days. It was something on my bucket list, and was a huge accomplishment in my own mind. While I was out on this trip, I was so inspired by the beauty of it all, that I wrote a poem to capture how I felt and how it affected me. I wanted to share this with you today. I think you will hear how much nature means to me in these words, and how special it is to me, so I hope you enjoy these words.
Eternal
By Adrian Petrillo
Once again, I experienced the truth, in my personal palace of solace.
High upon a mountain top, where peace waits patiently for each of us.
Eyes closed, I slowly inhaled the magical and cool elevated air.
Time fell away, and I became part of the light that I know I am from.
Impossible beauty rides confidently on the winds of this place,
Caressing my face, and blessing my soul with healing truth and wisdom.
I catch a brief glimpse into the forever, of which I know I am a part of.
A gift only possible by the very hand of god, where all is one!
Perceptions but an illusion, beautiful mysteries which we are not meant to understand.
A veil with profound purpose, where spirits are free to choose, to learn, and to grow.
All that you have ever desired to be or know, is hidden within each single moment.
Each moment touching the next, reaching forever into the intricate web of infinity.
There is no beginning.
There is no end.
There is no separation.
There is only the eternal, love and unity!
We all have something beautiful to share. Don’t be afraid to share what you find beautiful. Talk with others, and ask them what is special about them, and be genuinely interested. You may be amazed at what you find. Maybe you would like to share something with me?
I found myself wanting to ask people to send me their videos saying what they love most about the world, in a similar respect to the video my mom sent to me. My problem is that I don’t have 4 million followers, haha. I doubt I even have a dozen at this point. But I don’t care, it’s a beautiful and meaningful sentiment that I share whole heartedly. If you hear this and would share what you love most about the world, or what is special about you, please send me a video to the link below. I promise to save every single one I receive and to do something very special with them once I have enough to work with.
The darkness you see in this world is only an illusion, there is love and wonder everywhere around you. Talk to others, share something with them and let them do the same in return, laugh with them, cry with them, and make someone feel seen and heard, this is a beautiful gift that will light you up in amazing ways, and watch how this connection changes your life!
Until next time, never underestimate the power you have within you, and keep Growing Inward.
