This post was written prior to the election, As a post election note - I was over joyed to see Obama win the election in a landslide. These are some truly historic times we are all living in. I feel so lucky to be here to witness it.
Dear friends,
I hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year. The Fall colors are in full force. The air is crisp. The insects that have been providing songs all Summer long are growing quiet. The nights are getting longer. But there is something else in the air. The impending election and financial crisis has a lot of people on edge. Politics seems to be on everyone’s mind and is the subject of many conversations. All while activists on both sides are doing their best to help ensure their candidate wins.
I have tried not to get sucked in by all of the drama, but I’ve watched a debate or two and listened to a few news stories. What I see is different people who have different ideas about what is best for our country. What I also see is negative light being cast on those who have a different idea about what’s best for our country. “I’m right,” “No, I’m right,” seems to be the easiest way to sum it all up.
Regardless of what our political views are, we think they are right, otherwise we would not cling to those views. When these beliefs are held too tightly, it results in negatively judging those who do not agree. Often times people will go to great extremes to prove they are right and the other person is wrong. This is what wars are fought over. In fact, the ego can’t even entertain the possibility that our beliefs might be wrong.
The interesting thing about it is that no one can really be impartial or unbiased if they are clinging to beliefs. Everything they hear is colored by their beliefs. We only hear what we want to hear, which reinforces the belief that we are right. The spin doctor in the head (the ego) is being fed by the spin doctors of the candidates and the media (their egos).
I have not been very politically active since I became diagnosed with epilepsy, and found a new path to follow. If you haven’t heard the story before, I had my first grand mal seizure, which led to my diagnosis, on November 7, 2004 (my anniversary is coming up). I had just learned that John Kerry had conceded the Presidential election before all of the votes in Florida had been counted. I was quite shocked, and as I went into the kitchen to tell my wife, I seized. A while later in the ER, I was told I had had a seizure. Prior to that event, I was an avid Bush hater (though I’m not now), and had been very politically active since the 2000 election. So, this was a bit of a climactic experience that made me realize there is more to life than politics.
Needless to say, I am familiar with all of the frustration people have about politics. But I was lucky enough to have my priorities set straight after the last Presidential election. I now see how harmful this animosity for opposing views can be to everyone involved. I may have my own ideas about who might be best suited to run the country for the next four years, but I see both candidates as people who want to win for what they perceive to be the greater good. I no longer have any animosity for anyone, and know that it’s arrogant of me to think that I know what’s best.
I thought I would leave you with some lyrics from a Michael Franti (of Spearhead) song entitled “Is Love Enough” that seems well suited for this occasion. May we all remain open to the possibility that our ideas about what’s best may not be what is best after all.
In peace,
Trey
We want freedom of speech
but we all talkin' at the same time
We say we want peace
but nobody wants to change their own mind
And So it goes on and on and on and on and on
for a thousand years
A thousand years I say
And it goes on and on and on and on and on
What language are your tears
are your Tears
Everybody wants to live the life of kings and queens
but nobody wants to stay and plow the fields
Everybody wants to tell their neighbors how to live
but nobody wants to listen to how they feel
And So it goes on and on and on and on and on
for a thousand years
A thousand years I say
And it goes on and on and on and on and on
What language are your tears
are your Tears
What I got to say right now
is love enough, yeah
love enough, yeah
love enough
or can you love some more...
4 comments:
Trey, I so agree with you that political separatism is harmful. Our QUEST for spiritual Awakening is so much more important. Not politics, but spiritual Awakening will change the world, in my opinion. Only. Politics only polarizes, in my opinion. Let us all Be together, whenever possible. I love Eckhart's quote: "Meet everyone and everything through stillness rather than mental noise."
Peace, Be still. Cullen
Dear Trey, thank you for a very
interesting comprehensive view on
the current scene nationally 11/4/08. I agree and so many political ads gave me pause to think, especially the negative ones. In my mind I see a battle going on between two big sides of
this country BASED ON BELIEFS----
and for me also my beliefs are based on the spiritual values that
I hold, and I also realize that my
beliefs & spiritual values are not
the same as everyone else's.
Conclusion as per my reading of
"Elias" material: there are no
absolutes,(in the physical world only color is absolute and true everywhere on earth and all other
dimensions) and we are and have been entering A New Age Of Consciousness -The Industrial Age
of Over, the newest era now is
The Age of Consciousness where the
veils of separation between the]
physical and non-physical world are
lessening. Days of strife ahead
it seems but ultimately hope for
more understanding and ACCEPTANCE
of Self and Others will be the norm. Sincerely, Angela C.
In this case I think you are being a little blinded by trying so hard to be nonjudgmental. In reality if one candidates views are directly related to the murder of thousands of people in the pursuit of power and money I think it is important to have a view and take a stand. I think we should all be able to think and do as we like as long as we harm none. When that physical line is crossed (and we take away the right of those people whose lives have been taken to experience this life and explore thier own beliefs) we have a responsibility as a community of living beings to try and prevent that harm when it is in our power to do so. I do believe one candidate is much less likely to support and pursue war.
I'm going to take the liberty of posting your comment to my blog, as I think many others would agree with what you are saying. In fact, I agree that one candidate is less likely to support war than the other, though I can't know that for sure. I also agree that we all should do what we think is best. If we believe there is an injustice happening that we can stop, then most of us would do so.
We are all free to believe anything we want. Hopefully I didn't come of as condemning free thought. I was simply trying to point out what happens when those beliefs are held to be sacred. This election has been so divisive that there is a new level of fundamentalism being exhibited on both sides. Only when we stop and question our beliefs can we realize how unknowable life really is. Viewed that way, beliefs are simply aspects of imagination that make us think and act a certain way. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, depending on your point of view.
I can always tell when one of my subconscious beliefs is exposed. I start getting a bit defensive, my heart speeds up a bit, etc. That's my ego getting engaged to defend its position, and my queue to become aware of what it is I'm defending.
Stay in touch,
Trey
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