Have you ever in your life looked at something and thought, “Where do I start?” It could have been whilst cleaning, de-cluttering a space, moving house, starting a project, writing an assignment… the list goes on. Many times I have gone into overwhelm (and sometimes still do), asking myself this question and making the task bigger in my mind than it truly is… which if I do that, of course I will not know where to start!
I had a very similar feeling recently, only this was not to do with writing an assignment or de-cluttering, it was to do with what is going on in the world. In a short space of time I had read, seen and signed petitions on various news’ stories of devastating things that are happening to people and animals around the world. Not long after reading and seeing this, in fact during reading and seeing these different news clips, came the familiar feeling of overwhelm – of “Gosh, where do we start?” and I noticed an old pattern of feeling helpless arise. The question then came back to me: when such abuse and devastation is happening within the world, “Where do we (as humanity) start?” and “How on earth do we stop or change the abuse that is happening in the world?”
What I noticed was, when I gave myself space to feel into this a bit more (pulled myself out of being in the overwhelm and observed instead) I did not feel helpless, I did not go into sympathy. Instead I knew the answer. It starts with us. It starts with how we live, how much do we care and love ourselves within our own life, what do we value and tolerate within our life… do we or do we not accept abuse in our own life even on the smallest scale, which could be something as simple as overeating?
This then becomes manageable, tangible and feasible. For if we (every single person in the world) love ourselves so deeply, saying no to abuse, not tolerating abuse, valuing and respecting not only ourselves but every other person, then we would have zero abuse – no wars, no corruption, no lies, no greed, no harm to another or others.
This is possible – we just need to make the start.
So, where do we start?
We start with us.
Continually and forever inspired by the lived way of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
By Vicky Cooke, London
Further Reading:
One Step At a Time – Anything Else is Just Too Tricky!
It’s time for the world to wake from its Sleep
An Unnatural Disaster
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
This is a great discussion to be having Vicky, ‘It starts with us. It starts with how we live, how much do we care and love ourselves within our own life, what do we value and tolerate within our life… do we or do we not accept abuse in our own life even on the smallest scale, which could be something as simple as overeating?’ I have come to the settlement that for most of my life I have been choosing an abusive energy against myself. I have been super hard and when younger tried to annihilate myself. By meeting Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I have transformed my life turned it around so that everyday I take care and I am relearning how to appreciate myself on deeper levels with the understanding there is always more to discover about this innate beauty within. From this understanding I know that my friends, family and work colleagues can feel a difference in me because they tell me so and how settling it is for them when they are around me. So from my experience I can say that the positive changes I have made to my life is supporting others to feel more positive about their life, there is an astronomical science to this way of living which will catch on because it is what everyone is searching for, the truth of the words, to love and be love.
It is so easy to be distracted by what others are doing Shirley-Ann, that’s why there are so many distractions in the world because we are all so busy dabbling in other peoples business we don’t have time to look at the mess we are sitting in. A friend suggested to just keep swimming in my lane do not look left or right but straight ahead and by applying this tactic, I have enough of my own mess to deal with without looking outside at the mess other people are in. It’s working within my family, they have watched how I am transforming my life and they are encouraged to transform their lives too.
Absolutely Vicky, by being anything less than our Loving Soul-full essences we are a huge part of all the calamity we are currently living in, in other words we all have to be responsible for every action.
Abuse is abuse regardless of the shape it takes. Addressing it in our personal lives stops it from feeding the greater forms of itself in the world around us.
Many people are not aware that they are being abusive with themselves, cleaning up our home environment is a great place to start, ‘ how much do we care and love ourselves within our own life, what do we value and tolerate within our life… do we or do we not accept abuse in our own life even on the smallest scale, which could be something as simple as overeating?’
I love your blog, Vicky! Such a great question with such a simple answer. Where do I start? We start with us. Isn’t this where it all starts? And if being totally honest this then brings us to the truth that we end with us too. Us as you say, is not only us as in me and you, but all of humanity. We are where we start and we are where we end as it’s up to us to start living in a way that is inclusive of all humanity and it ends with us when each and every one of us has mastered living in such a way as to be inclusive of all humanity. We start with us to evolve back to us.
be, this is my understanding too that everything starts with us first, we cannot change anyone or any situation. When we reign ourselves in with self mastery and live from a way that is harmless to ourselves, then naturally there will be no harm in our bodies to harm another. This is the domino effect that will change the world.
Only when we have learned to care for and truly love ourselves are we able to inspire others with how we are living.
It is easy to look the other way and stay in our comfort to avoid the responsibility of the impact each and every one of us has in every moment.
We are the answer, it does start and finish with us… humanity. It is how we are with ourselves first which then ripples out to all others, not just on this planet but the entire universe.
If we micro manage our own lives then that in turn macro manages the world because the world is the sum total of all of our choices, it’s literally all of us and all of our choices put together in the one pot. And when we realise this, it’s actually really easy to see how it is literally impossible to fundamentally change anything without first changing ourselves because we are the everything, the everything is made up of us.
Alex as always you have summed life up in a nutshell. So beautifully shared.
“What I noticed was, when I gave myself space to feel into this a bit more (pulled myself out of being in the overwhelm and observed instead) I did not feel helpless, I did not go into sympathy. Instead I knew the answer. There is no space in overwhelm, overwhelm is a state of energetic suffocation which is why our breath gets effected when we go into overwhelm. And as space communicates intelligence then it’s easy to see how it’s impossible to come up with a solution when we are feeling overwhelmed. If we do come up with a solution then it’s often one borne from panic rather than clarity. If we are able to remain connected to our bodies then this helps us to stay in space and the answer to our conundrum is much more likely to become apparent.
Alexis what a great sharing that we can all relate to that is, ‘There is no space in overwhelm, overwhelm is a state of energetic suffocation which is why our breath gets affected when we go into overwhelm. And as space communicates intelligence then it’s easy to see how it’s impossible to come up with a solution when we are feeling overwhelmed.’ There was a time when I hated to go in a lift. I would tense up, so of course my breathing would change. By observing what was actually happening to my body by bringing awareness to it, I was able to regulate my breathing so that when I went into a lift I was able to breath gentle and by focusing on that I didn’t feel the overwhelm.
A great tip Alexis, that it is key to stay with our bodies, to stay in presence, ‘If we are able to remain connected to our bodies then this helps us to stay in space and the answer to our conundrum is much more likely to become apparent.’
It all starts and ends with us, we are the beginning and the end of everything because collectively we are the everything.
Gorgeously simple Vicky, “we start with us”. And for me this has meant and still means a lot of compassion towards myself, dropping the self-critic and judge and placing no blame anywhere.
It really brings it back to personal responsibility, and that this is actually worldly responsibility. By living the love we are and not accepting abuse we clean up the world one person at a time.
I know Melinda that we are sold the lie that what can one person do on their own to change the mess the world is in. What has been offered by way of this blog, is to understand that we do all count and that by cleaning up our own mess, we could be the pebbles that start an avalanche.
This keeps it simple, ‘By living the love we are and not accepting abuse we clean up the world one person at a time.’
We can stand back and judge others for what they are doing (or not doing) which only feeds the mess all the more – or we can step up to the challenge ourselves and as you said Vicky start with us.
Yes, don’t moan about it, be the change you want to see in the world.
Suse great comment, it’s a bit like our running shoes are on the starting blocks and we are fidgeting with our position or setting off a false start, having to go back to the blocks to go again. It’s all a delaying tactic to not get on with our evolution. Not realising that we are going there anyway but you have a choice in which way you get there, in delay or by starting the journey by just stepping forward. Just step forward focus on our feet and who knows what glory awaits us all.
In the past if the question – ‘where do I start’ – arose, I would quickly feel overwhelming threatening and the chances are I would go into avoidance mode, making the situation even more complicated. These days I am able to turn the complication into simplicity by stopping, taking an honest look at the situation and then choosing one little thing to begin with, and then another, then another. Any change in my life starts with the very first and simple step I take, as does any change in the world.
Ingrid I agree with you, change one thing and marvel at how everything else can unravel.
When we ask ourselves the question, ‘where do I start’ it already comes with overwhelm. Because when we connect to the purpose we know exactly what to do and when to do it.
Not knowing where to start happens when we procrastinate. It feels awful in our body but when we just focus on making a start without clinging onto overwhelm, every job, big or small becomes an ease and flow.
Focus on making a start, just prioritise where to start, and keep moving forward.
Thank you, Vicky. This tells me how overwhelm is actually a choice, a distraction tactics.
Fumiyo I hate how humanity has been lied to on so many different levels and in such subtle ways with one purpose only to stop us from evolving back to our natural state of being. Instead we are all kept in a prison of life and our emotional energy that we are encourage to dwell on is used as a life force for as yet to be seen, unseen beings – Entities. if we were to see them in their grotesque form we would stop immediately feeding them our life-force. That’s why they remain hidden because they are too cowardly to show themselves but we do know they are there because we can sense them and when we were children they were around us all the time scaring us, so we start life feeling very unsettled and so make bargains with them to give us security in a scary world.
I love the simplicity yet bold statement. Everything starts with us. We could spend our entire lives making it about others, thinking they will do it when the other are thinking the same about you. It only tales one to break this chain. Are you going to be that One?
Ir is so important to look inward before looking outward because we will find it so hard to cope with what we see outward if we do not have an understanding of ourselves and how we are part of the world we see, yet also part of the future we know we are moving towards.
So very true Lucy – if we don’t have “an understanding of ourselves” and the part we play in this world, we don’t have a starting point for change, either in ourselves or in the world. I am sure that we all would love to heal the world’s problems, today, – I sure would – but I also know that until I make a start on healing mine, I won’t have the understanding and foundation to support anyone else.
Lucy I agree with you. When we look out and see the mess we are in, it’s easy to give up because of the overwhelm of I cannot change this mess. However, I have discovered if I clear up the mess I have made by being in anger, frustration, judgement etc., then I’m no longer contributing to the mess and if we all took this personal responsibility then our world would change. Someone has to make the first move.
The smallest details such as keeping our focus on how we are breathing is always a great place to start, no matter how big the task we have in front of us is.
Thank you Vicky, you have brought simplicity, power, and purpose to one of the most important questions we ask ourselves “how can we can change the world from abuse to love?” We start by becoming the love we innately are and living that for the all. We tend to look for solutions outside of ourselves to do with world problems, but war and abuse starts with people, so it’s on the inside of each person that needs to change by reconnecting to and living from the love within.
Simplicity, power and purpose are key ingredients in any project we undertake, ‘We start by becoming the love we innately are and living that for the all.’
It is easy to get overwhelmed when we look at all of the horrific things people do to each other and it’s understandable why we turn a blind eye out of reaction to feeling how much it hurts us. I have done this ever since I can remember but now I’m choosing to know how ugly it can get and to call it out even if it’s to myself.
Yes, very simply, lovingly and making another choice on the small things we can do something about so it has a ripple effect in areas we need never know!
Burying our heads in the sand, not wanting to see the atrocities in the world is enabling them to continue, by seeing the mess of the world, nominating and hating this, we are supported to make changes that support a more loving way of living.
Whenever I don’t know where to start I come back to my relationship with my body and make sure I am really settled…and then it doesn’t seem to matter where I start, it is the fact that I do that counts, and everything sorts itself out from there.
Staying with the body is important, then it can guide us.
It seems to me, that we as human beings do not realise the power we have to change the world which is not surprising, as when you look around at the state of global affairs it’s all very overwhelming; there is so much that is needing to be urgently addressed. Any change, whether within our lives or wider out into life, comes from the next choice we make and the next, for with every change we make there is a naturally occurring ripple effect, and therefore the more changes, the more life-changing and potentially world-changing ripples we produce; yes, we have the power.
Yes, I agree with you Ingrid, we certainly do have the power and going into overwhelm and procrastinating is a way to deny our power.
Ingrid thank you for sharing the ripple effect as it feels to me like dropping a pebble into water and watching the ripples span out further and further. We have seemingly forgotten that we live in cycles and all the cycles are interwoven into the most amazing geometric pattern which will return us to the beginning again.
Before we can bring about true change in the outer world we must first go deep within and shift the barriers we have put in place that prevent us from seeing things as they truly are so that we may more clearly feel the gift of what we bring that will help dissolve the mess we as humans have created on this plane of life.
Very true. We feel we have to do, that is what we have been programmed to have as our ‘go-to’, yet the most healing comes when we simply be, because in that space and from that body we will know exactly what, when, and how to do what needs to be done. From this space of being it is done without the exhausting drive and overwhelm.
Liane so beautifully expressed that we have no idea of the gift that we each bring to humanity. This is not something we value in ourselves or others. Thats because from young we are not cherished in such a way that we remain open to the stars and the universe that originally breathed us forth and that we will one day return to.
Where to start is often easy to identify, it is rather the question of how willing are we to get started and let go of the familiar, comfortable but limiting habits.
And how much does our choice for this limitation limit us to see that there is a greater and grander awareness than we have currently lived.
So true Alexander, we usually know deep inside when it is time to make changes in our lives, but the potential road block is, ‘how willing are we?”. Letting go of all that which has been a big, but not necessarily supportive, part of our lives can be very challenging as we are usually being called to let go of what has kept us in comfort, and disconnected from the truth of who we are.
Ingrid it feels to me what you are saying is that we have bought into the lies of creation which is the comfort and the disconnection. We place our attention on everything other than what we need to focus on which is the reconnection back to our soul.
Very interesting Alexander, this is so true and when we connect to purpose we know exactly what to do and what is needed.
Alex it can sometimes feel quite daunting to let go of something you feel has been a huge prop in life. Because if we let go then what… It is to let go and discover that actually there is far more to life than we realise and hanging onto to old patterns, ideals, beliefs what ever it is we are using as an excuse or justification keeps us locked away from the true beauty of life. I can put my arms and legs into the air and say I have and continue to play this ridiculous game.
Often we look too far ahead and thus don´t see where to start; the start obviously is always just the next step, hence the answer is always very close, maybe too close, ie. we may need to turn towards something within we have tried to avoid for a long time by looking outside – in other words: we know ! and thus we also know how to distract ourselves away from that knowing.
Alexander we definitely do know how to distract ourselves from knowing we are masters of distraction.
I also find that when I lose myself in overwhelm, I have lost my self. I love when I am connected there is so much space and I am in the flow of life and in this more is done without the trying or doing, its just done.
Yes, and how great is that awareness, that message from our own bodies? It is not coming from anyone else, it is our bodies saying ‘hey, where did you go?’
‘It starts with us. It starts with how we live, how much do we care and love ourselves within our own life’ – you could not have nailed it better than this. If we don’t start with us, we will be waiting for others forever and nothing will be done or there will be no difference in the world.
Shushila, I can feel an ouch in your words
“If we don’t start with us, we will be waiting for others forever and nothing will be done or there will be no difference in the world”
There is a gorgeous Album – Space sung by Racheal Kane and Benjamin Hurt, they remind us that we come from a place of true magnificence we just have to look up at the stars to remind ourselves of our true home. They sing about the surrender back into space, and feeling the grandness of the universe, they sing about where we come from and will return back to. We need the constant reminder of where we truly come from as we are constantly bombarded by a force that is determined to keep us in separation to the magnificence we all come from. Thank Heaven literally that there was one person who was willing to stand up against the forces of creation and say this is not it and live in a way that is totally contrary to everything we have been led to believe was true, but actually is a huge lie.
Love the concept of starting with us – it just brings so much simplicity to it. I am moving home and certainly felt the overwhelm of ‘where do I start’ but it really is about coming back to us and knowing what is needed and when.
Yep it starts with us. And I think the reason we over look this, is that we prefer to go into overwhelm about the ‘dramas of the world’, than to look at the ‘dramas of our own lives’. It can serve as the ‘perfect distraction’ to stop you from looking at what is going on for you and what drama you may be creating in your own life.
It certainly does start with us Vicky, I used to feel overwhelmed too but now knowing that it all starts with me living love and that this will naturally be reflected to the rest of world has changed everything for me. Every single one of our choices do matter.
I know that question so well. I know I have looked at many things and thought exactly that. But starting is all that is needed. One foot in front of the other, then the other foot follows right back.
Absolutely, it starts with us. There are so many areas of our lives we have let slide from the truth or the standard of Love we know we and those around us deserve. It does not need to be a big drama, but it does need a consistent commitment to live that level of connection, decency and respect to the best of our ability as our normal. This lays a quality in our foundations that feeds us back the quality we know is needed in the world.
The title of this blog reminds me of the words of a dear and deeply wise friend at a time where I felt lost. I said I felt like I just did not know anything anymore and he said ‘that is a great place to start’. I can feel that in surrender the next step will show itself without effort or trying. It is the fact that we acknowledge that we are not ‘it’ and do not need to ”know’ that brings us the next true step in life.
I love this Carolien, what you have shared what your friend shared with you as it gives us permission to just be and feel what we are feeling. The truth is we do not have to ‘do’ anything. It is not about doing it is about being.
I can so relate to this blog Vicky, I am in the process of clearing our clutter in my home, it feels overwhelming when I see how big the job is, but if I just make a simple start and take it step by step I know it will all beautifully unfold.
Doesn’t matter where one starts from, all that matters is the direction of movement. All else is a given.
Feeling overwhelm at any point in life only occurs when I am trying to put the breaks on my journey of evolution. When I take my foot off the breaks there is nothing in life I am not equipped to handle and trust plays a huge role in letting go of overwhelm.
I love the way you dealt with your overwhelm of what is going on in the world by bringing it back to how you are with yourself.
And, how often do we think about resolving world issues but forget to look within and start to live the love we so desperately want to see in the world? Bringing it back to how we are with ourselves is the first step and this crucial step is often missed when we go into overwhelm and searching for answers outside ourselves.
Starting with this moment right now is the most effective way to initiate true change and evolution, and it’s not difficult or hard.