The Problem With Our Country Today

I came across a post about a Presidential candidate that disturbed me even though I like this particular candidate. It read, "Why am I so passionate about __________________? Because we may never get another chance like this to save democracy in America." Why am I disturbed by this? I am disturbed because, once again, we are failing to take responsibility for our own lives and save ourselves.

Has any President ever saved us? In the past, many people looked to President John F. Kennedy as a leader. I do believe he was a great leader. He led us through some very troubling times, including the Civil Rights Movement. I also believe he stood up to the bankers (which was a large part of why he was killed). Still, for all that, he was just one man. He was able to inspire thousands of people, which is an important ingredient in change.

A lot of people think Ronald Reagan was a good President. I never liked him, nor did I like his Vice President, George H W Bush. I thought people were stupid to vote for the guy because he had been a movie star. It ticked me off that he got credit for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yes, the economy seemed to thrive under his watch. Presidents don't make or break economies though. Bankers do. (Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who understands that!) 

My husband has been busy blaming every bad thing that has happened in this country on Obama. I know a good many people who do. Again, Presidents do not make or break economies. It is those with all the money and power that callously decide whose hands the money goes into. Obama can only do so much. The rest is up to us.

Most of us have no desire to be in charge. While I don't see that as a problem, it goes much deeper than that with many of us. We can't even take responsibility for how we live our own lives. Instead of listening to that voice inside that tells us this is what we should do and this is what we shouldn't do, we have become dependent on a set of external rules that defines how we should live. Rules are not bad in and of themselves, but one size does not fit all. This is where the lines between rules get fuzzy. If you get too specific and regulate everything to the nth degree, freedom suffers. 

When life is pleasant for us for a number of years, we have a tendency to become apathetic and lazy. We sit back and live off the fat of the land and forget that we play a role in creating our world. It isn't until much later, when things have gotten really difficult, that we begin to see the need to change.

While we slept, we allowed those in charge to take advantage of us. Many of us will continue to find a scapegoat to blame, but until we understand the world will not change until we do, all the blame in the world will not make it better. One man or woman running for President will not make the United States a better place to live. It will become a better place when each one of us stands up and takes an active role in creating a better world.

~CSE

 

Manipulation Vs. Awareness

I recently heard the statement, "Anything beyond 'No' is manipulation." The friend who said it was trying to set clear boundaries as part of her recovery process. I can see where she's coming from. In our society, our actions are almost always defined by "the rules" and our various responses to them. Everything we do is largely based on thoughts and ideas outside ourselves, and this is where our problems begin. Instead of consciously leading our lives through personal awareness, we are caught living the lives others want us to live through manipulation.

When we live in a state of manipulation, we allow others to define us. We live according to a set of rules that are supposedly designed to be for the greater good and allow our minds to guide us based on our previous experience within that framework. Manipulation clearly defines "good" and "bad" (aka judgment) and uses emotions like guilt, anger, and sadness to persuade people into following the rules. Living in manipulation is living in a place with clearly defined boundaries.

Living from the heart is living in awareness. It does not define things as good or bad, right or wrong. Rather, awareness draws your attention to those things that are important in the present moment. You may feel guided to actions you wouldn't normally take in your day to day life, and you don't judge yourself for doing them. You are not bound by "the rules". Rather, the Universe makes you aware of your own needs and the needs of those around you and encourages you to take action that benefits the whole.

Begin today by taking a closer look at the world around you. What draws your attention? The television? The tree dying in your yard? Another person? Ask questions that help you define what is drawing you there. (Am I watching television as an escape, or is there something happening in the world I can act on? If it's an escape, what can I change about my life that I don't need to escape from? Does what I'm watching inspire me in some way?) (Is there something I can do to heal the tree? Do I need to see the tree gets taken down because it is going to become dangerous?) (Is something wrong with the other person that I can help fix? Is the person acting in ways I should copy in order to improve my life?)

Living in awareness requires a whole new way of looking at the world. Awareness asks you to step out of the robot mentality and think for yourself. When you are finally able to escape the box society has placed you in, you free yourself from manipulation. Awareness allows you to express the BEing you were born to be!

~CSE