The True Message of the Springboks and Their Win

November 6, 2023

A week has passed since the South African Springboks’ nail-biting and euphoric Rugby World Cup final win. Not only did the record-breaking victory provide South Africans with a great sense of joy and celebration, but it also ignited a remarkable sense of unity, encapsulated by the taglines and hashtags, #StrongerTogether and #AliveWithPossibility. However, as time passes, so too does the euphoria and dopamine-induced high of the win, and with it, the sense of unity it ignited.

This of course doesn’t have to be the case but it will require us, as individuals and as a society, to take ownership and responsibility for our feeling-states and experiences. As grateful as we are for the Springboks for this victory and the ensuing sense of hope, it’s unfair (and unsustainable) to expect them to be our source of hope and unity. Even more so, it’s disempowering to abdicate our sense of well-being, and responsibility, to an outside fallible entity. If the Boks no longer win, where does that leave our sense of unity?

Of course, this phenomenon is not new or unique to the Springboks. Over aeons of time, we have been taught and programmed to believe that as individuals we are small and insignificant and need to look outside of ourselves for love, joy, fulfilment and salvation. As humanity, and in the context of this blog, as South Africans, we have now reached a pivotal point in our history and evolution where it’s time to turn within, reclaim our power, and reawaken our Sovereign (and Divine) Selves.

This is the true work of our time, which I call and refer to as the evolution and expansion of our consciousness. It is the underlying current of our universe, present in every sphere of life, throughout space, time and generations. This was the true message of all ascended masters, be it Jesus, Buddha, Quan Yin, Mary Magdalene, Krishna, St. Germain, Melchizedek, Babaji, etc. They never intended for us to place them on a pedestal and view them as our saviours and absolve us of our inner work and evolution. Instead, they came to demonstrate to us what is possible for each and every one of us. They came to serve as an inspiration and motivation, as a catalyst for us to do and continue the work which they exemplified.

Life will continue to present us with these invitations and catalysts. Sometimes these catalysts will be positive, such as in the case of the Springboks’ win for South Africa, and at other times they can be very painful, and express as war, conflict or any other form of calamity. The underlying objective or higher purpose remains the same, to expand and unify our consciousness.

So ask yourself, what are those qualities of the Springboks (or any other entity you look up to) that you admire, that inspires you the most? And what do the Springboks mean and represent for us – is it unity, alive with possibility, diversity, stronger together? Then ask yourself if you do or are willing to cultivate and embody those qualities and attributes in your daily life, in your household, in your neighbourhood, in your culture, in your work, business, economy, in how and where you spend your money and time, in how you participate in, elect and vote for municipalities, government officials and elections, in how you speak of, treat and interact with others?

And recognise that doing this work will require a temporary contraction, an in-breath, a going within, to facilitate the change and transformation. This holds true in every sphere of life. Think about switching to a clean diet or starting to lift weights, initially, it’s a slow, uncomfortable and even painful process as the body and muscles adjust. The same thing happens within agriculture. If you’ve been farming chemically for decades and then transition to regenerative and organic forms of farming, there’ll be a period of contraction and associated drop in yield and production as a result of the shock and adjustment to the system. This is something that cannot be bypassed.

The Springboks went through a similar process. With those first and initial talks of transformation and diversity mentioned and initiated, followed by Siya becoming the first black captain, etc., there was a lot of resistance, uproar and contraction. Yet now we’re starting to bear the fruit of that willingness to embrace and move through the discomfort.

Government

In the context of South Africa, I cannot but mention our government. Of course, much has already been said and written about our government; incompetence, corruption, lack of leadership, contempt, etc. But I hope to provide an alternative perspective, a more empowering one that disengages us from the current and downward spiralling stand-off and stranglehold.

Our systems, whether they be political, financial, healthcare, food and agriculture, education, social, community, etc., are and will always reflect back to us our individual and collective consciousness, reflecting back to us what we still need to become aware of, make peace with, accept, forgive, heal and integrate. The changes we require and want to see “out there” must first be initiated within. To try and change the outer conditions and systems without changing our consciousness is like trying to change the reflection in a mirror without changing the object causing the reflection. Ultimately, it is a futile effort.

If we are willing to acknowledge that we are all a part of and have helped co-create (at some point along our journey) the conditions and systems we have today and then examine where we are still participating in and enabling these conditions and systems which no longer serve us nor reflect who we are today/want to be, then we can be the deliberate, conscious and powerful creators we truly are and create conditions and experiences that serve us. However, if we fail to take responsibility for all of it, we will lack the power to change any of it.

The moment we can thank and honour all of the challenges in our lives, as hard as they may seem, is the moment we free ourselves from the power they hold over us. Remember, what we resist, persists. This is not a lofty platitude. Anything that you hold judgment towards or cannot forgive will stick to you like glue, repeating itself in your life experience, as an individual or a collective. We can all take responsibility for this being our country (and in the broader context, our planet) that we are co-creating and co-experiencing right now.

From Resistance to Acceptance

So then how does one shift from resistance to acceptance? A simple process I have found to work every time is:

1. Process Your Emotions

The first thing that you want to do is acknowledge, feel and process your emotions, that is, the emotions that you are experiencing in relation to what it is you are resisting so that you are then able to release those emotions and find some relief and peace. Suppressing, running away from or distracting yourself from your emotions with numbing agents will only result in physical illness, mental anguish and emotional turmoil.

2. Acceptance

Acceptance is not an endorsement of what is happening. Instead, it’s an understanding that whatever is happening must serve you in some way, even if you do not know how right now. It can be as simple as making you aware of what it is that you do not want, so you can redirect toward what you do want. When you accept that something exists for a reason, you move out of resistance to it. Resistance keeps you actively engaged with what you do not want which only perpetuates its presence in your life.

And any action that stems from a place of resistance and reactivity, is never effective or lasting in getting us what or where we want to be. Outer circumstances will [in time] always revert back to the underlying consciousness, which we experience and interpret as “they/things never change”.

One of the most helpful ways we have of accepting something is to change the way we look at it. And one of the best ways to change the way you look at something is to ask yourself how it serves you to have that particular experience in your life.

3. Forgive

Forgiveness becomes possible (and in most cases naturally arises) after you have accepted, made peace with and processed your emotions. If you can get to the place of forgiveness, then compassion becomes possible and from that place compassion, we can co-create something new and better from whatever the current conditions and systems may be.

Note, I said it’s a simple process, not necessarily easy 😉. If you notice yourself being resistant to these words and perspectives, my question is, what’s the alternative? Finger-pointing and blame? It is very easy to go about blaming others, or systems and institutions like ‘the government’ or ‘society’, but as I mentioned, these entities are simply reflecting back to us something that is active [often very deep] inside of us that we cannot admit to, cannot forgive or hold a lot of judgement around. Also realise that in finger-pointing and blame, there is no peace or resolution, only discord, disempowerment, victimhood and separation.

I did not intend to delve into the topic of government, in this manner, with this writing, however, that’s the nature of all life; interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. As a matter of fact, all of the crises we are faced with today as humanity are linked and share the same origin, i.e. separation consciousness, the belief that we separate from one another or any other aspect of life, which most often expresses as an ‘us versus them’ mentality.

In conclusion, my invitation to all South Africans is to view the Springboks and their victory not as something separate from yourself, but instead as an example, a catalyst and a spark to ignite and fuel what’s alive and possible within yourself. Ke nako.

With love.

Ceferino

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