We often say elections are about choices and as conscious politics practitioners, we know that choices abound so... Since this is the first voting season/Election Day to occur while penning this newsletter, I feel compelled to offer a look at the election through the lens of choice, at least for starters. Choices abound is a conscious politics concept because we humans are always making choices though we have historically, habitually, made most of them unconsciously. That game is old and over. To wit, “I have no choice” and “I had no choice” are sentences that conscious people and conscious politics practitioners don’t even utter. Anymore.
First up, then, because I said so, is the fundamental choice to vote or not to vote. Whether we are making our choice eagerly or with some trepidation, looking at Life through the lens of choice affords us unique opportunities to learn something about who we are and what we value. The harder the choice — Will it be the poop or the crap? — the greater the insight(s). Sometimes our choices affirm something we already know about ourselves: In the end I tossed a coin, which I love to do because I don’t like making decisions and am happy to let the coin to do it for me. Sometimes the insights are fresh: In the end, I chose the crap because even though it first seemed like it wouldn’t matter either way, when it came right down to it, I knew that the poop would put me in a slightly more comfortable position at work. I saw that I value peace more than I realized. And I saw that I can trust my gut. If you want to play along at home, consider what your choice to vote or not to vote tells you about you. You can’t mess it up unless you say, “I don’t know” in which case, uh, keep going.
…our willingness, as conscious politics practitioners, to realize that our choices do not begin and end at the ballot box on/around Election Day is something that makes us conscious politics practitioners in the first place.
When we pay attention to elections we are likely to be inundated with information, disinformation, facts, and opinions. Anyone? Some of it is likely welcomed and helpful, some of it probably not. Who is trying to get my attention? Who supports a particular candidate or issue? Who doesn’t? What’s clear/unclear to me? What more information do I need? Who do I trust? What do I believe? And there it is. Whether it’s about a candidate or an issue ahead of an election, it all boils down to what we choose to believe. That’s right: we choose what to believe. Of course, making choices about what to believe is appreciably easier with a well-developed gut, an ability to listen to inspiration as we say here. Call it an ongoing project of the conscious human.
Elections are about choices and choices have what? Say it with me: consequences. Sometimes we revel in the consequences of our collective election choices and sometimes they slay us. Whatever the case, our willingness, as conscious politics practitioners, to realize that our choices do not begin and end at the ballot box on/around Election Day is something that makes us conscious politics practitioners in the first place. Consciousness, let’s remember, as we talk about it here, is about how we think. More to the point, it’s about being conscious of how we think and choosing on purpose what, even, to think about. So what is it we’re thinking about after we’ve voted?
Did you notice? Not even a little bit surprisingly, our conversation about the choices we make in an election has lead us into a conversation about intentions — also known as making choices about what we want to be, do, and/or have. Specifically, we are now talking about a class of intentions that goes beyond our individual selves which, in and of itself, is so new-consciousness. Me to we, woot woot. So what are we really voting for or against? What if we went item-by-item on our ballots and used our choices as springboards into setting shiny clear intentions for the world we actually want to live in? Again, it matters not if you’ve voted enthusiastically, begrudgingly, by hook, or by crook because everything we don’t want in Life is a foil for us to choose what we do want. If you recognize this language it’s not me speaking, it’s your friend the law of attraction, reminding you that it’s always on.
So look at your ballot. If you’ve voted for or against Candidate A, what are you hoping things will look like locally and/or more globally during their term? If you do or do not support Issue Z, why is that? What do/don’t you want to experience in society? We could gather together for an all-day workshop — and we will — and come up with a slew of shiny, clear collective intentions and still not get it done. Just sayin.’
Our willingness as conscious politics practitioners to articulate a collection of such intentions will make it infinitely easier on a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day basis — between elections — to choose where to invest our precious time and energy, individually and in community with one another. And that will be exemplary practice right there.
IMAGE NOTE: I’ve been around long enough and am enough of a politics nerd to really revel in the romance of Election Day. It has been so much fun, over the years, to show up at an elementary school or a transformed garage or, yes, Town Hall itself to commiserate with neighbors, check in with local volunteers, receive my ballot, and step into a semblance of privacy to record my choices. No four-year-old could possibly be giddier than I when claiming my “I Voted” sticker and wearing it again and again until it just won’t stick anymore to anything.
This year, expediency trumped romance and I have, along perhaps with you and well more than 90 million of our fellow Americans and counting, already voted in the 2020 general election and been notified that my ballot has been received and will be counted on Tuesday. But enough about me.
Love the I Voted sticker photo! I have one-upped my civic consciousness message by investing in a VOTE pin that I've been wearing faithfully daily since I got my ballot, did my research and had my kids vote for me at our local ballot box on Oct 16. Let's get it done, everyone! Record turnout for 2020!! Another great article. Thank you, Steven.
What worries me is this statement by Joseph Stalin: "It's not who votes but who counts the votes". I just had a conversation with a guy from Chicago who said to me "if you ever wondered WHY one party has had control of Chicago for 100 years, it's not because they were voted in by the people there because most of the people in Chicago are very unhappy with the high crime there and try to vote the people in power out every time...but somehow their wishes are not fulfilled." Our voting system is antiquated for good reason. Why Andrew Yang's simple solution was not even discussed during the Democrat debates.