2017 Was it a Social Disaster?

For many, 2017 was a suck year. There are a lot of Political and Social issues in our world today. With the growth of Social Media and internet access, We have much more access to what is happening around the Globe. Well, we have many subjective and parroted opinions and perspectives available to us through many different sources with a mix of questionable news stories thrown into the mix.

It was so much easier back in time before the internet was commonly used and before all this technological progress. We were only influenced by our immediate circles and some hit and miss news we might catch on the news station on television or the radio and from printed sources such as magazines, newspapers, and advertisements. I have found that the media is biased. You can pick the news of your liking by simply changing the station or simply choosing your preferred source. If you are a particular Political party, you are sure to find news that is biased to your liking. It is some facts, if any, mixed with conjecture and inference.

The Pendulum Swing and Us in Current Events

I know many of my friends have been caught up in the swing of the pendulum in 2017. They’ve had a whole year to piss and moan, do energy-sucking binding spells that have no basis in rational logic and they have wasted a ton of energy to thwart a man who truly intends to do what he believes is best for this country and according to what he understands that to be (not that we have to agree with him). Let me make something clear about me here. I am NOT a supporter of ANY part of this Criminal government, therefore, I do not support Trump. I don’t waste my time and energy being against them either.

Yes, the social issues of our world suck ASS, and yes, our government needs to be destroyed and replaced with one that actually works for the people and not the corporations. A government that is not a corporation would be a good start. The ONLY way to resolve the social issues for the individuals of society who are complaining about how others think, feel, and believe are the ones who need to change. These issues are SOCIAL ISSUES because they are created by SOCIETY and not the government. The Government simply uses Society’s Social issues to manipulate and control society. But it is Society (you, me, and everyone who lives here) that creates, contributes and perpetuates our Shitty social issues. The Government is responsible for a whole lot of other crap that they do behind our backs while we are distracted by ridiculous irrational crap like Trump and our Social Issues.

2017 For Me Personally and How I Coped.

2017 was a huge personal challenge for me this year. Sometimes it takes a lot more effort to avoid that pendulum ride. I recall in the Kybalion it mentions how it is so natural to get caught up in the whole cause and effect of that rhythmic swing of the pendulum in life. It takes great effort and growth to be able to avoid being the effect when what we really desire is to be the cause.

I decided to hop off that freaking ride of erratic chaos as the pendulum swings. I saw what was happening within Society and did not want to get caught up in that Trap. That would just cause my life to be kept in the misery of the erratic and emotionally irrational cognitive distortions of society and their issues.

I stepped out of it. Plain and straight I don’t fit into this particular society and their distorted social issues like racism (a hot button for me). I don’t hate people based on stupid shit like the color of their skin, their nationality, their religion, their sexual orientation, their body type, their looks regardless of positive or negative, financial status, education or religious status and so on. I realized that I am not the cause of these SOCIAL ISSUES, and I don’t share the same mindset as the general public and I have no tolerance for bigotry, hate, discrimination, Racism of ANY KIND. I don’t give special favor based on race nor do I take away anything based on race. I realized I also don’t apply Labels to individuals based on any of these issues. I realized at that moment that the social issues of society aren’t my issues.

Since these are not my issues, I don’t have to jump on board and try to figure out which side of stupidity I want to take. I decided to take MY SIDE which is the side of rationality and logic. I stepped the freak outta that shit real quick. I began to focus my life’s energy (the energy we often use in magic) on things that would make a difference in my personal life. I focused on my own personal healing, I worked on personal growth, I worked on personal issues such as understanding people and the basic psychology of society, and I worked on my personal projects so that I can contribute to positive change within society by changing myself.

Honestly, I did get caught up in that freaking Pendulum swing on occasion and was greatly affected by it. It took me a few days to recover from it when it happened. You will recognize these instances in my social media posts and my blog posts (or should I say Rants). However, I did manage to recover and I stayed focused. I am still dealing with some lingering health issues and had some complications from that toward the last half of the year but it didn’t stop me. It did slow me down a bit but I am still chugging along just like the little engine that could.

It wasn’t an easy year and I haven’t quite become the cause instead of the effect and I am still struggling with raising my vibration. But 2017 proved to me that I could. I discovered that I have much more power than I used to believe. I have the power to overcome obstacles that I used to believe were unbeatable.

Overview Of 2017

Let’s face it, Society created an atmosphere that was miserable and anger provoking and hate mongering and just a bunch of freaking bullshit that didn’t help anyone this year. From a worldwide view, 2017 sucked but taking a glimpse into my personal experience with 2017, I would say it was challenging but considering all that happened in my life, I would relate 2017 as being the year I truly began to live. I was able to do that in 2017 because I pulled away from society and its issues and worried about my own life and my own well being. (NOT TRUMP or the other stupid political douche bags either). The only way to FIX the social issues is to fix OURSELVES as individuals.

Lessons I Learned in 2017

I learned a lot about myself and about society this year. Witches, Wiccans, Pagans and many in my own community have reared their ugly dark side this past year. With all their love and peace crap being spoken from one side of their mouth while from the other side of their mouth they became hate spewing, harm-causing, irrational with an erratic dark side vindictive personalities and these people try to deny that their dark side has any control over them and their behavior (for the purpose of self-deception if nothing else), I have learned that People (all humans) are irrational and it is their emotions that make them irrational and that the social issues of today have been exacerbated by the irrational way humans think based on their feelings.

Our feelings are irrational and sometimes our feelings have way too much influence over what we believe to be true.  I have learned it is very human to be this way. We all feel emotions and sometimes our feelings that are influenced by the information we have heard regardless if it is 100% factual or facts that are twisted by opinion blowing the facts out of proportion. This influences how we think and believe and it feeds our feelings. Our thoughts, beliefs, and feelings are the cause of what we DO (and say).

Much of how we view social issues like racism really is exacerbated in our minds because of our feelings. Better said, it is how we FEEL about the way we THINK about these issues.

I learned that the lovely combination that makes us human such as how we process information that comes to us through the unconscious cognitive process that is specific to human beings, our thoughts, our feelings and our beliefs all influence our perception of what we experience with our senses. This can lead to our perception being based on a cognitive distortion of the facts.

In reality, NOT all white people hate non-white people. Not all white people are racist or any more racist than non-whites, and it isn’t true that all heterosexuals are homophobes or even hate gay people (LGTBQ). All pretty people are not necessarily smart and not all fat people are lazy. Stereotypes that categorize groups of people are not ever actually literal.  It is true that some people are a lot like these things to some degree but it is a cognitive distortion to believe that ALL people of a particular group fit a particular label regardless if it is positive or negative.

I learned that Trump is not really as important as the cognitive distortion that has been created about Trump would have us believe. I learned how to see myself for who I really am. I recognize my light and my dark side and I embraced them both.

In 2017, I learned that people get really freaking pissed off when you call them on their bullshit or just point out the facts or even offer an opinion that isn’t popular. I learned that the majority of human beings in America go around parroting what they heard without fact-checking, and they wage personal wars based on bullshit that they were told.

I have found that when life gets challenging, all the fun-loving, peace-oriented, do as you will but harm none and those who are constantly saying be responsible with the craft, and those “wise folk” Let’s not forget those witches who claim they would never hurt a fly, they don’t have a hateful thought or feeling ever so they don’t need any rules to remind them to play nice, have all lost some control of their dark side. What about the ones who love everyone and believe in tolerance or at least they want to be tolerated.  These lovely types shout a lot about Tolerance and in the process, they drown out the voices of the genuine people who ARE tolerant and can teach them how to actually be tolerant and to create the Tolerance they desire for themselves.

I learned that these people are not what they believe they are or at least what they want the rest of the world to believe. They deny their dark side and therefore have no control over it. People, in general, are monsters. We work on being angels (and want people to see us that way) but for the most part, we are all monsters in some way of some kind. We are all just as evil as we are good and those who refuse to recognize that will never understand the true mysteries of life or their own potential as a human being. I have learned that they have made this choice to be in their dark place mentally and emotionally which directly affects their physical life.

I learned that some people are still immature and just need those tough life experiences to help them grow into the amazing people I see them becoming.

Most of all I learned that People are people and we all have flaws. No one is perfect. No one is exempt from the responsibility of the condition of our SOCIAL ISSUES. I am responsible and so are you and so are they. I learned that all humans are idiots and that all humans are basically the same. My mother had a saying, “When you point a finger at someone else, you always have three fingers pointing back at you”. Another saying you might find familiar is to “clean up your own backyard before pointing a finger at someone else”.

Predictions For 2018

I have decided not to try to make any predictions this year. I don’t want to face this coming year by starting out with expectations that I will have to overcome when faced with the upcoming challenges.

I do have hopes and goals for this year, however. I hope that society comes to their senses and recognizes the cognitive distortion of the actual issues so that these issues can begin to heal. I hope that each individual will heal their old social wounds and the new social wounds created throughout 2017. The only way to make the world a better place is to change each and every individual and that is all up to the individual to make that choice. I hope that every individual of society chooses to heal their social wounds.

The only forward view I have for 2018 are my goals. I will definitely try to keep my focus on my goals because I really want to reach them. The one prediction I can make for 2018 is that if I stay focused, I will reach my goals. Everything else is being tossed into the hopes and fears bin for a later review.

GOOD-BYE 2017, you served me well. I release you and leave you in the past as I move into a new beginning on this journey through 2018.

Happy New Year! I wish the best for you and I pray that 2018 will be the year of success for you as well as for us here at Witch Digest.

May your 2018 be filled with blessings. Take care in all things you do this year. Don’t waste Good. Focus on what really matters in your life. You deserve it.