I dread the upcoming elections. I say dread because I think the elections divide the country. I see and hear awful ads pointing fingers at who is to blame and out of context propaganda about how the other candidate is so terrible. The whole thing makes my stomach turn inside out. So I ignore much of it as best I can. I minimize TV watching and I don’t engage in political discussions with friends.
What do I believe? I think the answer lies in the middle instead of either edge of the extremes. I think saying only one party is right is about the same as saying that only one religion or church is your entry into heaven. (I better stick to politics and not dip my toe into religion in the same article!) So back to politics…when we war within our country about which party is right, we create a tense environment. How can we solve problems with finger pointing?
By now some of you are calling me simple-minded, naive, idealistic or unrealistic! So be it! I don’t think the answers are on the edge but rather in the middle. I love the concept of The Tao (pronounced dow). The Tao is called the way. The philosophy is that everything has two extremes or opposites like yin and yang. If you find the middle, forces balance. Energy is wasted on the two extremes. When you find the middle, you also find energy and effortless action and perhaps even solutions! Finding the balance in the center creates harmony.
So what can we agree upon? I hope we all agree that our country stands on the premise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as well as freedom. To get more specific, can’t we all agree that debt is not ideal and look for a solution to reduce it? Start with your own life and life style and reduce your debt. If every individual and every family worked together and took responsibility to decrease debt, then we could look for ways to reduce debt with our government. It begins with the individual and the choices you make every day.
I don’t have all the answers or any answer for that matter except that let’s stop fighting and look for ways to work together to solve our problems first in our own homes and then our communities and then our nation and government. Look for The Tao in your own life, find balance and live it. Then stretch your vision each day to help make the lives of others better. Stop the blame game. Do something to make a difference and add value to someone else.
Be mindful and thoughtful with each interaction of your day. Be positive and optimistic and act like what you do matters because it does. A smile, a wave, a compliment or kind word, a tip or a lending hand all cause a ripple effect. Even an act that no one sees except you like picking up trash or doing the right thing when faced with a decision all adds up to making our world a better place.
Okay, this is my first time ranting about politics in a blog. Or maybe it is just a viewpoint of living. I recently saw a Facebook post that said, “My desire to be informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.” Politics are complicated, but to dumb it down, each day you have many choices. Create a day that you can be proud of as a humanitarian. Consider The Tao way of living and look for the balance and the middle. Point your finger at yourself and take responsibility and control in your own life. And that is all I have to say for today!
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