Political Mindfulness

Hi there,

I wanted to take some time and talk about political disagreements, which we have plenty going on in our country right now.  Why are we at war with each other over our differences in opinions?   It seems no matter what side you are on, you think you are on the right side, and everybody else who doesn’t agree with your views, well they clearly are mistaken and are on the wrong side. Also if they are wrong they must be educated and redirected.  

While there are some face-to-face disagreements too, most of this seems to play out online.  Reality is we live in a virtual world, and most people feel more outspoken on social media.  There seems to be no holding back the belittling and name calling.  Then the unfriending and blocking starts.  If you share your views, posts, memes, or anything that triggers the opposite side, oh well, I am sure you have experienced it, the tamper tantrum at kindergarten level surely will arise.  Family, friends, acquaintances, co-worker, friends of friends (people who basically don’t even know you) start attacking you in the ugliest manner possible.  This can lead to families being torn apart and some true friendships to be broken forever.  But why??? We all know that these kind of aggressive and hostile war-of-words aren’t going to change someone’s opinion on the matter anyway.  Does it feel good to put someone else down by calling them stupid and worse?  Apparently, it must, or why it is necessary to act out in a such a way?

We all have the right to have our own opinions, and that is what our democracy is all about.  I encourage healthy, constructive, and respectful disagreements, while keeping healthy boundaries.  I also encourage mindfulness when you share your thoughts, because how we word things can make a huge difference in deliverance of the subject.  Leave the ugliness out of it.  If you get attacked, be the better person and just agree to disagree and walk away from it.  These kind of disagreements are not a battle to be won, they are only differences in opinions.  We don’t need to see eye-to-eye on everything.  Let’s remember the big picture, we all want the same, which is freedom, peace, prosperity for this country.  Let’s stop pushing buttons and allowing others to push our buttons. Let’s work on uniting and not on dividing.  Let’s work on sharing human kindness. 

If you are experiencing stress because of politics, reach out to me for anxiety therapy. I can help you learn to set boundaries with others.

PS: I am always happy about feedback.  But I want to throw out there that I am not interested in a political discussion.  This post is completely impartial to political views, including my own.

Also, please forgive my typos and grammatical mistakes.  English is not my native language and sometimes spellcheck doesn’t catch it all.  Plus, I don’t want to overthink a blog post and edit it several times, as I think it will lose the moments emotions that I am trying to share.