Shifting gears

Since everything is but an apparition perfect in being what it is, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may as well burst out in laughter.
~Long Chen Pa

I kind of got lost the last few weeks, and I'm guessing I'm not alone. I can certainly point to all of the wonderful things I've been doing and the sense of urgency around them as the unbalancing factor, however I suspect that underlying drumbeat that you can practically feel and hear around you everywhere you go would have permeated even my best attempts at staying centered and grounded.

Yes, tomorrow is Election Day. I'm guessing you would have to live in an unplugged bomb shelter somewhere to have missed what promises to be the largest election in America's history. What started out as an optimistic, hope-filled embrace, however, has turned into a conversation steeped in fear. When I'm not careful, I can feel the country's anxiety and negativity seeping through into my own consciousness, and don't fool yourself into thinking it's all the other side. No matter which candidate you are supporting, in the desperate final days prior to the election the national conversation seems to be centered around all the terrible things that would happen if the other guy won. It's hardly surprising considering the culture of fear we've been living in for at least the last eight years, but my challenge to myself and to the world today is to rise above this fear-based thinking and focus instead on your intention.

What got me excited about this election in the first place was that it represented an opportunity for another voice to be heard -- the voice of the optimistic, the spiritual but not religious, those who recognize that every moment represents a choice about how we're going to live today. In other words, my voice. I want for my country what I want for myself -- the opportunity to spread your wings and fly, to live life to its fullest, to experience expansion and freedom. And I recognize for my country what I recognize for myself -- the best way to encourage change in another is to begin with yourself.

And so when I got dressed this morning, I pulled out my LIVE MINDFULLY shirt as a reminder to myself to truly stay present and be mindful this week. Because no matter what happens tomorrow, it's all going to be okay. I'm not going to kid myself and say I won't be disappointed if my candidate doesn't win, but I have to remember that life is an unfoldment and an evolution, always moving me in the direction of my highest good. I set my intention, I make my choices, I get out there and do what I can do, but I also allow the unexpected to come in and show me possibilities I might not have thought of on my own. And most of all, what I want to remember is not what I am against, but instead that I am FOR change, I am FOR hope, I am FOR living life fully. Namaste.

Photo: "blown open," originally uploaded by sookie

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