Thursday, April 9, 2015

Failure to Choose Is a Choice



I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I think I've finally figured out something. I'm sure there are lots of people who, upon hearing my revelation, will respond with, "duh." I am equally sure there are some who have not thought of this - at least not consciously. So, as much to enlighten as to clarify my own thoughts, and perhaps to entertain, I will explain myself.

People are afraid of change - nothing earth-shattering in that statement. Now, you may be one of those people who welcomes change, but I would argue that when faced with difficult choices, you too, will choose what is familiar. Why? Because we are prone to laziness and inertia. We are always looking for the easiest and quickest way to get things done. Making informed decisions takes time and effort. The changes that may come with different choices can be difficult to navigate. We are already accustomed to the status quo, and just because we don't like it doesn't mean we want to figure out something better. Let somebody else do that.

It's one thing to delegate. It's an entirely different thing to abdicate. When faced with a choice, failure to choose is a choice. Allowing someone else to tell you what to choose is a choice. Procrastinating past the point of having options is also a choice. All are cowardly, lazy choices.

It was 1972 and I was in the second grade when my teacher decide to have a mock Presidential election in our class. The candidates: George McGovern and Richard Nixon. In this secret ballot election, we were to check off our choice and give a reason for it. We had learned a bit about each candidate but I doubt that had much bearing on our selections. I can't remember, but I imagine most of what we thought we knew came from our parents. Richard Nixon was the winner, in our class and the real election - the one in which informed adults voted. But were they?

I still remember the reason I voted for Nixon, and I'd be embarrassed except for the fact that I was 7 years old! I wrote something along the lines of, "because he was already President and seemed to do a pretty good job." What did I know about whether he did a pretty good job? Absolutely nothing! I voted for him because he was a known quantity, something not different, something completely lacking change. And I didn't know it at the time, but I'm sure my reasoning was that I hadn't personally suffered as a result of his actions so he must be doing a good job.

What I have come to realize recently is that many (far too many) adults are functioning with a 7 year old mentality when it comes to making choices, and although that's just fine when it only affects them, it is not when it affects all of us. I'm talking about elections, which may not seem to affect us personally, but have profound effects upon the lives of all of us. Choosing wisely is a serious responsibility which I fear is too often treated as another item on a checklist of things to do. Get it done. Get it done. My vote probably won't make a difference anyway.

So we vote for the same candidates time and time again, based on name recognition and fear of the unknown. Maybe we haven't been personally harmed by this candidate, or maybe we don't realize it but we have. Explanations, excuses really, like, "Well, all politicians are crooks anyway," is not a good reason for choosing the same crook. Maybe they're not all crooks, and maybe once they get the message that we will no longer tolerate dishonesty, injustice, inequality, and lethargy, they will change their actions. But we cannot expect from others what we are unwilling to do ourselves. And on a side note, I would like to add that unhappiness with the current situation does not warrant choosing the opposite. For example, voting all Republican or all Democrat just to get the current crooks out of Congress doesn't accomplish anything useful. Each candidate needs to be evaluated for his/her ability and willingness to best represent our interests. Voting for the opposite is just plain lazy and largely misinformed.

So we need to address some vital issues. Are we willing to ask the hard questions, do the research, and stand up for our beliefs? Are we willing to address injustice and inequality when we see it? Are we willing to work for what is right? Do we strive to have integrity in all situations?

Before you start repeating what you have heard others say, as if you know it to be true, research it yourself. Things are seldom defined in black and white. Question everything. Form your own conclusions. Instead of acting from a place of fear, act from a place of knowledge and integrity. If you're happy with the status quo, be able to defend it. If you want change, be willing to define it. When defining what you want, there is no right or wrong, only what is right or wrong for you.

Warning: I'm about to get preachy as I share what I feel is right for me, and naturally I feel this is right for everyone else too because that's my opinion, and the beauty of opinions is that they don't have to be based in fact. I dream of a world where people will actually treat others the way that they would like to be treated. Sometimes we don't know how others prefer to be treated. In those cases, do no harm. Help one another. Consider the feelings of others before you act and try not to judge the actions of others. In short, love one another. I firmly believe in this quote from Corinthians 13:4-8a:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

I'd like to think I may have influenced a few people to put in the effort to create the world they want. Educate yourselves. Define the issues that are important to you and defend them. As for those things which are not important to you and for which you are unwilling to do the work to learn about them, abstain from voting. Don't vote because you feel it's your duty, although it is, and don't vote because someone else told you how to vote, although they will. Simply vote because, in a democracy, your vote matters and, for that reason, you should vote for what matters to you.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Letting Go


This is a little something I wrote for myself in October 2010. I decided it might be worth sharing:

______________________________________________

When he was five, he stopped holding my face. One day I just realized he had moved on. Of course, I knew it was coming. It's this endearing little thing that toddlers do, but not too many grade-schoolers. Maybe he did it for so long because he knew he could make me melt. I could never be angry with him if he just held my face and looked into my eyes.

I could tell I was becoming dependent on it when I realized how devastated I could be when it ended, and I knew it would have to end. I'd tuck him into bed at night, he'd put his little hands on my face and say, "Mommy, your skin is so soft," like it was a wonder. And like some magic elixir, Id' drink in those words and feel youth surging through this 40+ year old body.

Nighttimes were the best. Even if he'd gone to sleep in his own bed, I could count on waking up in the morning with his small head n my pillow and his hand on my cheek. My husband want to know why he always ended up with his feet, almost pushing him over the side.

When he was six, he said, "Mommy, when can I call you Mom?" Why did he want to drop the "my," the "me" part? But I bravely answered, "Anytime you want Honey." Was "never" an option?

He hardly crawls into bed with us anymore. When I asked him why he said, "Cause I don't have bad dreams anymore." For a split-second, I was torn. If I want him close to me I have to hope for bad dreams? Wouldn't that make me the monster?

No longer does he run to me to kiss the little boo-boo's away. He still needs me for the big ones, and he still comes to me when he's sick or tired, in need of hugs. He knows I'll never turn him away and he doles out his affections like a prince bestowing favors. I wait expectantly, cajole, and then bargain for my kiss good-night.

He's a first-grader now and I feel his littleness slipping away. He still holds my hand as I walk him to school in the morning, though I am not allowed to kiss him good-bye. He no longer greets me with a hug, but holds my hand as we walk home again. I treasure this contact because, all too soon, I know this will end too.

It's a fine line. We want them to be well-adjusted, safe, independent, happy, and we want to protect them from being hurt. We see the potential mistakes to be made and need to remind ourselves these are opportunities for learning - perhaps for both of us. We find ourselves possessed of a love so great, we must do what hurts the most - let go.

At night, I lie in bed listening to his measured breathing down the hall. "Sweet dreams," I whisper, and realize I may be talking to myself.

Friday, February 12, 2010

"We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same."

Carlos Castaneda
1925-2000, Author

I have observed that an awful lot of people seem to be spending an awful lot of their time making themselves miserable. Are you allowing them to make you miserable too? It's your choice, you know. Here are some suggestions:

1. Practice acceptance - Stop struggling against what is. The more attention you give to it the stronger and more pervasive it becomes. Besides, you can't change anyone else; you can only change your reaction.
2. Accept responsibility - Be willing to recognize your part in the play. How have your actions contributed to your current situation? What is the blessing in your current situation? Every problem is an opportunity in disguise. You may have to play detective, but be open to any possibility.
3. Forgive and love yourself - We are all doing the best we know how; you are no exception. Stop criticizing and start loving yourself. Be your best friend.
4. Give it up. Stop trying to be right. Stop defending your point of view, your opinion, your choices. There is no need to convince or persuade anyone. It's what you believe that matters.

Do you want to be the person who lights up a room by leaving it? I sure don't. Why not make it your mission to spread a little love and light wherever you go? It's hard to be miserable when you're doing that.

Friday, September 18, 2009

It's natural beauty that counts

We as women are trained to see ourselves as cheap imitations of fashion photographs, rather than seeing fashion photographs as cheap imitations of women. - Naomi Wolf

There's more to make-up than what we see on the surface. Competently applied, it lends us the confidence to face social situations. With that out of the way, we are free to be ourselves and let our light shine - something no fashion photograph will ever do.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Dreams

"The only opinion about your dream that really counts is yours. The negative comments of others merely reflect their limitations - not yours." - Cynthia Kersey

Have YOU taken the time to dream lately?

Friday, July 31, 2009

Are you getting what you want out of life?

"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are."

Thomas Dreier
Author