Fear blossoms in different ways for all of us. For some, we fight, for other we flee. But we can’t stay quiet. It takes one voice—many people using their voice—speaking out to make a difference.

 

By Dana Gornall

You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up (Hey!)
Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger
A fighter
Dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

Roar, Katy Perry

I, like probably many of you reading this, have been completely overwhelmed by the news.

I don’t mean the 6 o’clock news, or the 9 o’clock news, or whatever “news” that is dying off like orders of coffee and cream from McDonalds, and newspapers that are delivered to your front porch at 5:30 in the morning. I mean the news that flashes in our social media day in and day out—the news that we scroll through in reels and 60 second stories.

The news our friends share, and the people we went to high school with and the social media friends that we have never met in person. The news that is on TV’s while we wait in lobbies at the dentist office and while we walk on treadmills at the gym.

It’s both exhausting and at the same time, unforgivably impossible to stop watching—well almost impossible.

I shake my head. My heart sinks, and hurts, at the same time. I cringe. I tear up. My soul withers. I feel like we are on the cusp of war (we are on the cusp of war) and I also want to bury my head in the sand. It’s like a movie, when the music begins to clue us in that something horrible is about the happen, and we sink down in the cushions of the couch and pull the blanket up around our chins.

Only, this is no movie.

I’d like to say I don’t care what party you affiliate with, but I can’t. Because if you affiliate with any group that lacks compassion, if you affiliate with profits and money over humanity, I can’t relate to you.

There I said it.

I have been trying walk this tight rope for too long—not wanting to anger those who think differently, but I can’t keep doing that.

While searching out information on what to do with this feeling I’ve been having of being angry and scared, wanting to act and wanting to hide, I came across The Lion’s Roar—“In Buddhism, Lion’s roar symbolizes the authoritative and powerful proclamation of the Buddha’s teachings, reflecting strength and transformation, and signifies profound and impactful declarations that command respect and attention.” (wisomlib.org)

This also led me to the story of Queen Śrīmālā.

Queen Śrīmālā was a lay follower of the Buddha—a powerful and wise woman, daughter of a king and married into royalty. She is deeply devoted, but also fierce in her clarity and resolve. She’s not a passive figure—she steps forward in a time of confusion to declare truth with fearless compassion. Her voice is called a “lion’s roar,” a term in Buddhism that refers to the unshakable proclamation of truth grounded in deep wisdom. She used her voice to cut through delusion with compassionate clarity.

The Lion’s Roar spans cultures and continents, and shows up even in today’s culture with modern Buddhism.

In Jainism, Lion’s roar symbolizes both a call for help and expressions of victory, representing Bala’s distress signal, followers’ reverence, and Bali’s army’s celebration, reflecting themes of courage, power, and devotion. In Hinduism, the Lion’s roar symbolizes Krishna’s formidable presence, evoking fear in elephants.

It metaphorically represents his strength and intense character, highlighting his power and dominance in the spiritual realm.

In Mahayana Buddhism it shows up in a metaphor for the bold and undisputed declaration of the Buddha’s enlightenment and dharma teachings, a metaphor indicating the profound and impactful teachings of the Dharma as echoed by the Bodhisattvas and a powerful proclamation of the Dharma, symbolizing fearlessness and authority.

The lion is the king of beasts, but in the Buddhist view, this power comes not from dominance, but from spiritual majesty—a presence that commands respect because it is pure, stable and protective. It is also noted that it has the power of truth to cut through delusion, waking people up like, “a thunderclap in the dark.”

“Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. They’re allowed to take only a knapsack and a little cash with them, and even then, they’re robbed of these possessions on the way. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed, their families gone.” ~Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

It’s extremely difficult at times to speak up.

Fear blossoms in different ways for all of us. For some, we fight, for other we flee. But we can’t stay quiet. It takes one voice—many people using their voice—speaking out to make a difference.

You may have seen that in the protests that have been happening around the United States, and in other countries. You may have seen that in the No Kings protests. You may have seen people forming a wall to protect citizens from being taken without a warrant. You see these things because people keep filming it and uploading it onto their Tik Toks and their Reels, and this is why we need to pull our heads out of the sand and really see what is happening.

Share it. Stand with them. Talk about it.

Last week a nostalgia page showed up in my feed highlighting Hands Across America. It was a fundraising event that occurred in 1986 to raise awareness around hunger and homelessness. People paid a 10 dollar fee to participate and the goal was to form a human chain from on coast to the other across the United States. While they were unable to fill the entire country with people, where there were gaps they added ribbon and banners to fill in and raised 15 million dollars toward charities.

Seeing the photo in the article of people in the mid-80s with their permed hair, locking hands, all I could think was how much our country has changed.

While our senate is sitting in their seats right now debating the current Big Beautiful Bill, while ICE agents are pulling children and families off the streets and forcing them into vans, I ask you to please take a stand. Find your roar—your lion’s roar. Make a human chain across the country, create a sign for a protest, share a reel, talk to your neighbors, your co-workers, your parents, your children. It’s time to speak up.

Make your roar loud.

 

“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” Anne Frank

 

Photo: Pixabay

Did you like this post? You may also like:

How Buddhists Can Be Activists and Peacfully Protest with Special Guest Daniel Scharpenburg {Podcast}

At the Heart of Healing: A Bodhisattva Path through Crisis, Community and Compassion

 

Comments

comments

Follow here
Latest posts by Dana Gornall (see all)