The Power of One in a World in Transformation

What Can I Contribute?

Source: iStock by Teraphim

I have a blessed life for which I give thanks every day and don’t take any of it for granted.

That being said, I have been struggling with my writing given all that is happening in the world. It just feels like such a small contribution and even a selfish indulgence.

My biggest worry in the last couple of weeks was a power failure that lasted about 3 hours. No lights. No WIFI. No water as I’m on well water which requires a pump. But I had a fridge full of food. A roof over my head. I was warm and comfortable. The only potential problem with a power outage was for my hot tub. How long would it take for the water to cool down before freezing? Worst case; I would need to drain the water to prevent damage. Not a crisis by any means.

That’s my life on the material plain.

What’s been troubling me and has been my shadow all my life, like a heavy cloud of doubt that hovers over my head is the question, “am I making a difference in the world?”

I am an empath. I am highly sensitive to the energetic frequency passing through this great planet of ours as well as the one generated collectively. Meaning, I am FEELING the suffering in the world.

The chaos happening with my neighbors to the south, politically and environmentally.

The ice caps are melting and the world is burning!

Source: Front Line Wildfire.com on 31 Jan 2025

The ongoing resistance fighting of the Ukrainian people (a peaceful people deeply rooted in family and tradition) against Russian attacks of invasion.

The world doesn’t want to face a third world war. Yet in my lifetime war has been a constant in the news.

I just happened to have been fortunate to have been born in Canada. I’ve been an onlooker watching other nations fight between themselves, destroying everything in their wake. Then as Canadians we send in our Peace Keepers to help rebuild.

This is nation against nation or in my view neighbor against neighbor. It just feels hopeless. Where is our humanity?

I am grateful for my knowledge of Human Design otherwise I would be taking all this emotional energy in, believing it is mine, I would become attached to it and then the not-self mind would want to label it, to explain it, potentially plunging me into depression. Instead, I can feel it, let it inform my being, and let it pass through me, doing my best to transmute the negative energy so that it may carry the frequency of peace and harmony back into the world.

So, here I am FEELING all this emotional chaos while carrying this nagging doubt about my writing. My worldly contribution feels small and self-righteous. I haven’t been posting daily notes because it feels insignificant in the grand scheme of all that is going on in the world. I am aware there are so many people living through devastation or in fear for their safety and well-being. It’s not like any of my publications can change any of that.

Writing about my past life struggles…seems so small compared to the world stage. It feels - sometimes - egotistical, vain and inconsequential.

Yet, writing is my passion. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve got these mixed feelings regarding my writing and ask myself, is it the best way for me to make my contribution to the world right now? The whole of January, this question has been in my heart.

Then I got this message from Autistic Ang, the morning I planned on writing my article, though still uncertain about what I would write.

“Wow your story is raw, super introspective, and beautifully articulated. What hits most is your exploration of love - not as something merely spoken but something proven through action. That perspective carries lots of truth. I also respect your courage in breaking free from family expectations and redefining your own worth, despite the weight of old narratives. Your writing (for me, and especially this piece) isn’t just reflective, it’s transformative. You don’t simply tell a story. You invite us to examine our own. Thank you for sharing your truth with such honesty and depth.”

She commented on my article, I Promise You Nothing.

Today’s topic has been percolating for the last month as I seek to share universal themes. What I have been experiencing is the melancholy of what to focus on. I have been contemplating, “Is my writing transformative”, and then I get confirmation that it is.

Doubt is also a universal theme. We may not all get to witness the fruits of our life’s work.

We all carry within the basic architecture of what it is to be human, the drive to leave our mark even if we don’t fully know in what way. It comes from the questions, “Who am I?” and “What is my purpose?” which is the same as asking, “What can I contribute?”. These are the questions that direct our lives.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. I’m confident I can say that most people view this expression in terms of how we see or judge others.

I use my writing to expose how we do the same with ourselves; we judge ourselves according to these old narratives and they become our cover story and we simply go along with them until we look beyond or beneath them, and discover the true story that we’re meant to tell.

I want to remind you, that while we’re collectively facing troubling times and we’re being asked to speak up, to show up, to do what we can, you too may experience this doubt. Asking the same question, what can I contribute that no other can and yet you may feel it is insignificant.

Your story is unique.

“Each human being is an aspect of the totality, with a unique contribution to make as an interactive part of the whole… Each of us carriers our own cross in life and all crosses are essential to the whole; no single cross is more important than any other.”

The Definitive Book of Human Design – The Science of Differentiation, page 288

Don’t lose sight of the Power of One! And don’t be mistaken to believe that only those who have money as holding this Power of One.

Your power lies within you, in what you are here to contribute!

Please don’t be complacent! Don’t hide behind your cover story.

Don’t compare your role with anyone else’s!

We’re not all meant to be Martin Luther King Jr, Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Ruth Ginsburg, or Greta Thunberg!

I think many of us need to be reminded that this doesn’t make your contribution any less valuable.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate that:

A mother taking care of her children while overcoming shame and addiction is contributing.

A husband taking care of his wife with dementia is contributing.

A grocery store employee by day and writer by night is contributing.

A leader with a long vision for his country’s people and standing up against the odds is contributing.

It’s the small farmer starting with no experience and only two acres, is contributing!

It’s the cancer survivor sharing her story, who is contributing!

It’s the recovered PTSD person turned life coach, who is contributing!

It’s one person seeking to understand and create a community of inclusion, is contributing.

It’s the brave individual who deliberately seeks out and calls out those who promote bigotry and prejudice, who is contributing.

All of you, your voice matters! Your contributions matter!

You exist. All you need to do is affirm your place in the world by doing what matters most to you, unapologetically!

A special thank you to Relic L for sharing your voice so bravely in your posts, keep contributing! Here’s a sample:

January 30th: A Shadow Across Time is worth reflecting on.

Each of us is creating a part of this beautiful tapestry.

Source: iStock by DeoSum

What is going on in the world right now, is NOT our NEW NORMAL. Our world is experiencing a global transformation. The future is not yet written.

I’m sorry, it’s impossible to mention everyone!

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For the Human Design Enthusiasts…

“Am I making a difference in the world?”; long before I learned about my Human Design, I felt this need in my entire being that I am here to create change. My incarnation cross is a Left Angle Cross which means that I am here to serve others. My life purpose is in the quarter of mutation. My purpose can only be fulfilled by attaining my full potential, so when I ask myself, “Am I doing enough?”, it’s a question that is rising from my being. The shadow that I spoke of, is not to be confused with the shadow of the mind’s creation of doubt and uncertainty which is also present, like a heavy cloud over my head because I rarely get to witness the transformation I am here to generate. What I have experienced in my lifetime, I am to scrutinize for meaning and pass on universal truths for the next generation to use to establish their foundation to help transform the larger patterns in life.

“I am an empath”; I have an undefined Solar Plexus and as a generator, my aura takes in the energy around me and I generate life force energy which goes back out into the world.

“…doing my best to transmute the negative energy so that it may carry the frequency of peace and harmony back into the world”; It is my aura as defined by my Sacral that is doing the transmuting of the energy with the aid of my gate of openness (gate 22) from my emotional center. Notice that this gate is part of a manifestor circuitry carrying both frequencies of anger and peace. My hanging gate 40 from the channel of community is the one that wants to create harmony in my environment and beyond.

This sentiment of hopelessness is also a part of my life purpose to navigate. It comes from my gate 47, the gate of realization with the keynote of oppression. It is on the Design side of my HD under the influence of the Sun and Mars. In its introverted shadow expression, it is experienced as hopelessness but it also has the potential to carry the energy of transmutation when I am operating correctly; following my HD.

“Where is our humanity?” I have gate 5, the gate of fixed rhythms in my HD on the Personality side under the influence of the Sun. Again, this is a significant part of my life purpose. As a generator, I have a defined sacral, and gate 5 is where that energy is flowing from. I don’t have its counterpart, gate 15, known as the gate of extremes. My gate 5 is calling out to all gate 15s for the “love of humanity”, which is one of the love gates.

Depression: I have described above the basic mechanics of what causes depression and could be written about in greater depth but then the truth could become obscured. I will only add for those who have gate 1 in their HD, as I do, the introverted shadow expression of this gate is depressive.

“melancholy of what to focus on”: With my 2024 Solar Return, which occurs on our birth date, I am carrying the influence of gate 9, enhancing my gate 62. Melancholy generates the mechanical response of withdrawal and allows for contemplation and creative energy to flourish through stillness.

“Who am I?” and “What is my purpose?” which is the same as asking, “What can I contribute?”. These are the questions that direct our lives and come from the G center. The answers are hidden in our monopole, not for us to know but to discover.

Gate 1, specifically, is the gate of self-expression – who am I – that is better understood when it is connected with gate 8, the gate of contribution. Those who do not have the gate of contribution defined will experience doubts surrounding the question, am I on my path, am I living my life purpose?