A Safe Place

Even though I am over three thousand miles from Toronto and all the brouhaha that has been going on with the G20, the recent riots and news about a city scarred by these protestors, I started to think about personal safety. The house across the road from me has been broken into twice in just a few months, both incidences during the early morning hours and both when the occupants have been inside sleeping. The house is a small bungalow, and the first entry was made through an open livingroom window, the second through an unlocked back door. The second time the thieves took a flat screen tv which they had to disconnect, and carry out through a narrow door, navigating past an awkwardly positioned refrigerator. Not a dash and grab kind of break in. All the while three adults slept on without hearing anything, only to wake up to find most of their electronic equipment was missing. Talking with neighbours about this started to make me feel 'unsafe' about living in this neighbourhood, but lying in bed last night thinking about my 'safety', I came to the realization that being safe isn't about a 'place' somewhere. If I move from here to there will I be more safe? I don't think so. Being 'safe' is not a place it is a feeling, an attitude, a state of mind.I can't change people, I can't stop people from wanting to invade our personal homes, from being intruders and stealing things. What I can do is change how I feel about it all. This world with crazy and dangerous people, gangs of thugs like the 'Black-Bloc', can terrorize us and keep us living in a state of fear only if we choose to allow them. I am not scared or scarred by them, and neither should the city or people of Toronto. I am not a victim of petty theft because my neighbours house was broken into. I choose to feel safe because I know that my neighbours and the majority of people that live with me in this city, join me in sharing a set of common values, these values include trust, truth, respect for one another that create a shield of safety around me. These common shared values create a barrier repelling the toxicity of the minority. We need to focus on strengthening these values, creating stronger communities of like-minded individuals who seldom meet each other but share a collective consciousness of love and trust. A 'safe place' is then a relationship with all people who have reverence for one another and everything in this beautiful world. It is an environment of people who are connected by their souls, who have a silent agreement to live by a code that honours and respects each other to live each day in grace. Rise up people of Toronto, rise up to your common shared values...step into your Higher Selves ...walk in truth knowing that you live in a city where you can always feel safe.