I won’t lie. When you ground yourself in reality, you not only see with your eyes but also feel with your heart. This clarity breaks through the fog of pretense and opens us to genuine connections.
It’s tough to see clearly when the crowd blurs the view. In a world of self-imposed labels and divisions, truth feels elusive. You’re either “in” or you’re “out,” based on arbitrary standards that drain our energy and spirit.
Many of us are waking up to this. Ego-driven power is a draining game, an emotional sinkhole that leaves you empty. Instead, many of us want authentic interactions, peace in our lives, and healthy connections in our communities.
This rising awareness breaks your heart and ignites you at the same time. You see the suffering but also the pioneers building healthier ways of living. There’s an undeniable pull towards accepting truth and taking meaningful action.
I won’t lie. The last few weeks have been heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak. My life has been a mix of cultural imprints, a journey through varied realities that have been both eye-opening and painful. Despite these experiences, or perhaps because of them, I’ve found my path to not only seeing with my eyes but also feeling into everything.
I won’t lie. The world right now seems like a dissonant place. The twist is the country of my birth shares no part of my identity. It’s now in conflict with the country that fills my earliest memories and heart. When asked about my origins, I say, “It’s complicated.”
My accent invites assumptions, but the truth is, I spoke three languages by the time I was three. I then stayed with one, only to circle back to English with a tutor at age six. Like a number of us, I can hold five nationalities so far.
I’m in sync with the global heartbeat. I feel the world’s distress but also its untapped potential for wellbeing and unity. It’s like a wakeup call, urging us to craft a life and world rooted in honesty and mutual respect. We can be citizens of a world that isn’t defined by borders but by our shared desire for a healthy, peaceful existence, which often feels impossible with the hate and barbarianism fueled in so many.
My identity, tangled as it is with languages and loyalties, helps me connect with this global potential. I am not just from one place; I belong to a world yearning for peace as the machinery of war, division and destruction is at its peak.
Facing crisis, holding onto meaning feels like a struggle. Yet, Viktor Frankl remind us that we still own our last human freedom: the power to choose our attitude, no matter the situation. When changing our circumstances falls out of reach, the challenge pivots to changing ourselves.
This week someone told me I need to stop helping people to take care of myself. For me, taking care of myself means helping us.
I won’t lie; it’s not easy. But I know why I am here and that there is so much work and co-creation to be done, together.
As I prepare to speak to a group of 70 amazing female entrepreneurs this morning, in a country whose language I don’t speak, I feel a sense of purpose. There’s so much to ignite, and we can only do it when we start telling ourselves the truth. No matter how hard it is.
I pray that in the next weeks we witness some humanity and also find our individual and collective voices. Silence, like hate in a world that tears us apart by human design, serves no one.
I won’t lie. We are responsible and can no longer afford to stick our head in the sand. It is time to become the authors and creators we need more than ever; when each of us is ready to face ourselves and understand why we are truly here—whether it is to be a parent, a friend or an architect of our humanity.