It’s time to reflect.
And for me, my friends, that comes in the form of a poem:
This year has been a journey,
Another lap around the sun,
Decades in the making,
An end that’s just begun.
After years of things gone crazy,
After tears and years of loss,
The people’s hearts are stirring,
As we question who’s the boss.
Who gets to censor info?
Who gets to silence speech?
Who gets to limit freedom?
Who gets to restrict your reach?
Who gets to muzzle humans?
Who gets to rule us all?
Who gets to stifle spirit?
Who gets to make us small?
There are those who seek more power,
Those who seek control,
Who live atop the towers,
Viewing masses as a whole.
They grasp that it’s us and them,
They set themselves apart,
They rule with iron fists,
Without regard for heart.
They miss the deeper meaning,
The yearning of the soul,
And fail to grasp the strength,
Of the underdog’s final role.
Depleted and desperate,
And pushed to the brink,
With nothing to lose,
The underdogs think:
Why this is not right!
They can’t treat me like that!
But then again here we are,
So maybe we’ll scrap?
Those pushy old thugs,
That political class,
They think that they’re better,
Until they’re knocked on their ass.
But to bring balance to power,
To bring bad things to light,
Will take more that just squawking,
Or even effort and might.
It will take long conversations,
Time spent with friends,
Until the minds of the masses,
Grasp the political ends.
What is their game here?
How’s it being played?
How have we drifted?
How have we strayed?
Their isn’t one answer
That makes it succinct,
But there is a deep knowing
That we are on the brink.
It’s the classical battle,
It’s us versus them,
It’s the global cabal
Versus our families and friends.
They care not for your loved ones,
They care not for your life,
They are driving divisions,
They are stoking the strife.
They make us mad at each other,
They make us confused and unsure,
But by standing together,
Our rights will endure.
We cannot accept failure,
We cannot accept shame,
We cannot accept placid,
We cannot accept vain.
Right now is the moment,
Of defining our time,
As dark forces gather,
And slither and slime.
As we shake fists at the heavens,
As we swing at the skies,
As we scream at the storm clouds,
We’re believing the lies.
They’re crafty and cunning,
They pull strings and change scenes,
But they can’t stop resistance,
From free human beings.
Our story’s not over,
We won’t go away,
We will fight for the right,
To have it our way.
We’ll rise up and shout,
We’ll speak truth and proclaim,
Our life and our freedoms,
Are not meant to be tamed.
As we look to the future,
As we embrace liberty,
Let us never forget,
Our shared destiny.
We are Americans……Let’s live up to it!
Live free or die!
Covid changed everything. It turned the world upside-down. Businesses were shuttered. Loved ones died alone. People were locked up and isolated. Faces were covered. There was an eerie distance and distinct distrust within our communities.
We’ve each stumbled through the pandemic in our own way, picking up the pieces of what was, trying to make sense of what is, and grasping for glimpse of what’s to come.
For myself, after relocating to a remote location to avoid the zombie apocalypse and be closer to loved ones, I began to build new relationships in a new community. After homesteading, I coached football, started attending local meetings, ran for school board, and spent every extra minute trying to research what was really going on.
What I was learning was shocking to me. Nothing was as it seemed. As I slowly wrapped my head around the pandemic, it was like waking up from a bad dream—only to find the situation was worse than I’d ever imagined.
I’d been asleep at the wheel… and I wasn’t the only one.
Politics were never really top-of-mind for me. Having destroyed my body in the military, crawling my way through a decade of chronic pain, taking up yoga to avoid amputation, the focus of my life had taken many unexpected turns. From a promising financial career to opening a yoga studio, from helping veterans with PTSD to mentoring the next generation, my heart was always for service.
Prior to the pandemic, my experience had culminated in the launch of a non-profit called Heathen House, with the vision of providing a place of fellowship for seekers, for sinners, and for spiritual skeptics. I was scouting properties in the Boise area and was just days from signing a lease on a beautiful old church when the first lockdowns hit. That changed everything, and it forced a rapid recalibration of personal priorities.
We packed us our stuff, sold our home, and set out on a new grand adventure.
Fast forward.
Of all the lessons in life, one of the hardest is letting go.
Letting go of relationships. Letting go of comfort. Letting go of expectations.
Letting go of ego and pride. Letting go of fear and worry.
Letting go of control.
Letting down.
Grieving loss.
Part of being human means having different emotions. Sometimes emotions are silly and don’t make sense. Sometimes emotions are stuffed and ignored. But the emotions are always there—emotions are biochemicals being released into our bodies, whether we realize it happening or not. This is stuff I learned through multiple certifications for trauma sensitive yoga, yoga for first responders, yoga for PTSD, and the countless hours I spent applying this science to my own personal healing and development.
And there is a science to it.
There is a science to letting go.
Just by taking a great big breath, pausing to feel the heartbeat and relaxing on the breath out, we can create an internal shift. It’s a physiological shift. It’s simple. It’s safe. And it’s free. Take a deep breath. Pause to feel your heartbeat. Relax on the breath out. If you do this a few times, you can’t help but feel the shift. It just happens.
Try it and see.
Breathe.
Now, you might be wondering how this relates to my mission with The Torch Report, and the answer is simple:
The solution to political chaos is the elevation of personal awareness.
It works like this:
Only when we become aware of our emotions, can we process and manage them effectively. If we do not process and manage our emotions, our emotions cloud our mind. Think of all the damage that can done in a single fit of senseless rage. Think about falling prey because of being paralyzed by fear.
Think about all the time and money that’s spent trying in vain to numb the pain, to distract the brain from the stress of not knowing, to cope with a hopeless situation.
This is all part of the human experience. We can pretend like it’s not happening, or it doesn’t happen to us, or likes it’s not really a priority, but this is a path to darkness, to self-denial, to addiction, to apathy, and to a lifetime of suffering, if only in silence.
I know this because I’ve walk this path. I’m not making this stuff up!
NOW THEN… we are at war with a global cabal of great evil doers. They call us hackable animals and intend to treat us like slaves. They plan to cull the herd. They’ve infiltrated nearly every institution. They’ve captured the political process. They’ve indoctrinated children. They’ve mesmerized the masses.
They’ve got the money, the power, the influence, the media, the military, and the momentum. They’ve got the knowledge, the experience, and the strategies. They’ve got the teams, the organizations, and the public-private partnerships.
In short, they’ve got everything they need to succeed with their evil schemes.
BUT HERE’S THE TRUTH: We have everything we need to succeed as well.
We’ve got the people, the passion, and the purpose that’s worth dying for.
We’ve got the intelligence to develop counter-strategies, the imagination to develop creative solutions, and the intuition to navigate a sticky situation. We’ve got the drive to survive and thrive, the discipline to make it happen, and the determination to see it through. We’ve got the grit and gumption to get back on track, and the tenacity to do whatever it takes. Where there’s a will there’s a way.
The solution to political chaos is the elevation of personal awareness.
We have to think long term. We have to wake people up. We have to get people together. We have to talk about what’s going on. We have to elevate awareness.
What I’m talking about transcends the two-party system. It defies the two party platforms. It’s not trying to win people over. It’s trying to wake people up.
Freedom is the most good for the most people.
Freedom is the solution to perpetual conflict.
If people were’’t trying to forcefully impose their will upon other people, we wouldn’t have to fight. This is easily grasped when we get out of the head and into our hearts. When we look someone else in the eye and connect at the human level.
Empathy unlocks the answers. I don’t want to control you. I don’t want you to control me. If we can agree to disagree, then we can work together for common goals. But if there is disrespect, there will be strife. Threats will be met with retaliation. We might even have to fight to the death. This is all perfectly natural human behavior.
You are you and I am me.
Together we are we.
Let’s share a laugh and lift a toast,
To our humanity destiny.
We’re all going to get old and die. We all want what’s best for our kids. We all want to leave a legacy for future generations—but what will our legacy be? What will your legacy be? The choices we make will shape history for a long, long time.
That is our destiny.
It is was it is and some things don’t change.
We’re facing a beast that’s cunning and strange.
But fear not at all times and look and you’ll find,
There’s power within when you martial your mind.
If we each keep our wits and work hand in hand,
We can bless future moments with peace on the land.
Head on a swivel, eyes open and wide,
Move forward with force and savor the ride.
In the midst of this battle remember your why,
When the going gets tough give a little more try,
Relish the moments when you see the flag fly,
For not on our watch shall liberty die…
NOT on our watch shall liberty die.
—
Happy New Year’s my friends!
Peace and blessing to you and yours.
For Freedom,
Luke
PS: Don’t forget, now it’s easy to catch up on previous episodes by listening to The Torch Report on iHeart Radio, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Apple iTunes —enjoy!
TR 271 - Looking Back & Looking Ahead