Nowadays, I can’t blame anyone for feeling panic. Fear is a very power catalyst for action. “What if” scenarios abound. Revolution, civil war, the breakdown of society – all of these loom like great shadows over us as we contemplate the future.

What so few realize is how powerful each of us is. Looking for leadership and guidance, we are all too quick to surrender our power to some elected official.

The future – your future – demands that you take personal responsibility for what happens next.You may feel helpless and wonder “How can I possibly have any effect on the future?” But you are not powerless.

Let’s look at some possibilities. There have been multiple meditation studies showing that if only 7,000 people meditate on peace, the crime rates go down as much as 72%. Meditation and prayer are very similar. We can pray and imagine the world we desire. With consistency and strength in numbers, we can affect reality.

The question is, are we as a people strong enough to stop panicking long enough to simply take a deep breathe and grow quiet within? And will anyone believe that which he or she has not personally ever experienced?

I clearly remember times in my life when felt that I had to take action – to tell someone off, write an angry letter, march down to that office to complain, etc.

So sitting and meditating on LOVE when you feel as though you want to kill someone might not be an acceptable choice for the masses. But it is the only choice that will not lead to “assured mutual destruction.”

Emotions are high. Fear is very strong right now. I am seeing dear friends fighting with each other, with people they LIKE, on Facebook and Twitter. Some hate Trump, some hate Hillary. The blame game is going strong: It is the fault of the political system, the polling system, the media, the dishonesty of the DNC, the Republicans, etc. etc.

It is vital that we come to the realization that it is inside ourselves that change must begin. We must come face to face with our fear of death, of suffering, of uncertainty, and of change.

When life seems like an ocean of violent churning waves that threaten to destroy all that we know, we instinctively cling to that which feels solid – that figurative dock of certainty – our habitual reactions. But fear-based clinging only keeps us trapped! Trapped in our habits, trapped in our familiar beliefs, running along in the hamster wheel of repetitive behaviors, instead of experiencing what it means to be truly alive.

So even if we fear that we may be facing the darkest of times ahead, we can choose who we are destined to become. As it is commonly said among self-help guru’s, “you cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it.”

Must we react with fear and violence? Or can we choose to allow the times ahead to forge within us a love-based character of strength?

I realize that I might be just “whistling in the wind” here, but even if only a few listen, it might help in some way. And some reading this may feel that I am just being a Pollyanna, living in a dream world. The truth is that I have gone through an innumerable series of very dark experiences where miracles of manifestation occurred because I believed that they could. When we believe in our own capacity as a powerful being of Light, we can create miraculous changes in the world around us.

Regardless of what the future holds, we ALL have a sphere of influence. Even if I only manage to influence a few people, if those few influence a few, and those few influence a few, etc., we can chip away at the hatred and the fear.

We are part of a Universal Consciousness that is eternal. This moment in time feels like it is all there is… but it is merely a drop in the Ocean of Life and you are the Ocean, not the drop. And because we are all part of this ocean, if I hurt YOU, I hurt ME.

And when it comes to LOVE, if I love ME, I love YOU. Fear and hatred are contagious, yes. But what people forget is that LOVE is also contagious.

Your love may be interpreted as weakness. And if you are stomped on, what does that mean? What does it say about them? What does it say about you? There are definitely times when we must have courage and stand up against wrongdoing. Fight with love. Use love as your weapon of choice. You can speak truth lovingly and convincingly. There are ways to act, to fight, and to protest that are far more effective than violence.

Meanwhile, every chance you get, smile at someone. Take a moment to be extra kind. And when you see or hear about something ugly, something that hurts your heart, send a compassionate thought to that ugly thing, surrounding it with love -- the way you would compassionately wash a dirty child with a warm soapy washcloth.

Each of us must be the change we hope to see in the world. It is up to us.