Don’t let a good crisis go to waste

There is no ‘you’, there is only the state of freedom. Be That. Be free like the sky. Be still like the hill. Accept change like the seasons. Be silent like complete emptiness. You are That! (Ramana Maharshi)

Markets were crashing due to the pandemic fear of the Corona-outbreak in early 2020. I was reminded of the existential fear I sometimes felt when I was still working in the financial industry. Around that time when markets were turning against me, I felt panic, I had a feeling of throwing up; more than once the temptation crossed my mind to simply jump off a bridge just to make that pain go away. Today I am convinced that I have to thank the pressure of my old job for cracking something inside me open which launched me on a quest for the kind of freedom Ramana Maharshi describes in the above quote.

Existential fear is more pressing than dealing with the ‘me-energy’ when the going is supposedly good. Instead we feel a little apathy, a little loneliness, some restlessness or boredom. The temptation is strong to just sweep these little cravings and irritations under the carpet. We escape from the inner void rather than facing it. Policy makers during the many European crises tended to say, ‘don’t let a good crisis go to waste’, implying that they could push through unpopular reforms in the heat of a crisis because everyone could see that there was no alternative. 

A spiritual quest is different from policy making though. Your mind is probably saying right now, ‘yes, make that change you always wanted to do’, and sure, absolutely, go for it. Yet, when I say, ‘don’t let a good crisis go to waste’ I mean something way more revolutionary. No matter what change you are implementing, your ‘me-energy’ will still be running the show. No, I am encouraging you to use the crack that broke open in this crisis and look straight into the incoming light. The world that Ramana Maharshi is describing is at our disposal at every stage in life’s ups and downs. Today is a good day to be free, so don’t let a good crisis go to waste.