A piece I wrote for the socials, ahead of the 2020 presidential election, is suddenly gaining traction again. Proving that the algorithm is as mysterious as ever, because why now? (And confoundingly, as always, how)??? In any case, it confirmed for me that the energy in our country and the world is rising. And how deeply furious and anxious we are witnessing the attempts of extremists to wield as much power and cruelty as they can.

I found myself meditating on how to best help you, in a way that honors what I believe about intuition: it isn’t a magic wand. But it guides us in ways that are truly magical and benefit the highest good for the greatest number. So maybe what’s needed is to remind ourselves of that.

But here’s another truth about intuition: it isn’t passive. It encourages us to take action. How we do that is by choosing stillness first, so our actions are properly guided and not motivated by fear.

Last month, while on a trip of a lifetime to Mexico City, I received several powerful messages about hope. Traveling often facilitates this for me.

One night I had a dream that I was on hold listening to a voice on speakerphone explain very distinctly that there is a difference between going with the flow of life, which is much slower than we expect it to be, and paralysis caused by fear. When we embrace the former, we can hear our intuition clearly, which then helps us choose our actions intentionally, because it helps us catch the fear-based thinking that deals in illusions.

The speakerphone voice concluded that the world is at the crest of a wave of transformation. Helping others is the key. Then the message began again.

Mexico City is the largest municipality in North America. The energy there is a wild and constantly moving river of creativity. Art is everywhere. Traffic is constant. Thousands of years of civilization and history push their lessons into one’s consciousness. While we were there, not only were we woken up by small earthquakes twice, we also experienced the seismic alert system go off while shopping in the city center. On another day, we were stuck in traffic on the highway for two hours because of a horrible car accident. Popocatépetl, one of the two major volcanoes that rise above the city, was agitated all week and finally spewed large plumes of smoke and ash into the air the day after we returned home.

Nothing there felt even or balanced or fair or calm. Even the sidewalks are wonky. All of the basics, walking, language, water, nourishment, operate on an entirely different set of assumptions than I am used to.

It was invigorating. I was forced to pay attention to life in order to navigate it, which pushed me deeper into awareness of what is essential about our humanity: most people are in possession of a radical kindness and empathy that is the foundation of our resilience. I felt it everywhere.

During my visit to Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s home and (now a) museum of her life, the messages were just as potent. I understand more fully now why Frida has become not just an icon, but a kind of cultural saint. Sharply different in energy to the tumultuousness of her life, her home (where her ashes also lie) is so peaceful, the atmosphere almost effervescent. There is a joy present there that is spiritually profound but light, like cotton candy.

I was not expecting her to laugh and shake her head in wonderment that she has become a popular symbol for transcendence. Her life was a life, with the same combination of pain and suffering that we all understand. What is unique is how remarkably honestly she portrayed it, and how few limitations she accepted given the difficult physical experience she had. Her unabashed facing forward idealism, especially given how constricted the lives of women were at the time, is part of what inspires us.

Like our dear Frida, we can be perfectly imperfect, and use our energy to live our lives exactly as they are, knowing we will all be channels for the infinite, which is limitless and good. We need as much as possible of that in the world right now.

So let’s do that. Let’s live as the channels we are.

¡Viva La Vida!

-Susan