But maybe I’ll drop off a casserole for the family of Renee Good…
Some people in my orbit proudly state that they’re shutting out all politics (hence, most news) as “divisive.” They say things like “I just don’t need the disturbance,” “everyone who pays attention to politics is unhappy,” or they literally cover their ears and say “la la la la la.”
Those same people are compassionate, loving, empathic people who want to hear about your latest diagnosis, your friend’s difficulty in selling a home, as well as that relative’s terrible suicide.
Thinking about this got me wondering: what’s the difference between paying attention with compassion, possibly offering to drop off a casserole, hold them in prayer, or attend a memorial, and paying attention with compassion to what’s happening (maybe in another state) where a woman named Renee Good is shot by an immigration officer or when a whole school district of teachers is told they can no longer value diverse voices or images in their classroom?
Why do one set of hard facts of life merit our full heart and head, while the other gets labeled as politics and screened out by design?
On the one hand, I get it, we can’t drop off casseroles for the whole world. We can’t attend everyone’s memorial service.
On the other hand, isn’t that why we have government? We pool our resources and elect representatives to spend them wisely. And then we call the way they’re spending them, “politics,” and screen out the news about what’s happening.
It strikes me that this technique only works if we’re happy with what our elected officials are doing:
- If we wanted them to hire and train a masked army to snatch people off the street and kill people who protest on the spot, why pay attention?
- If we wanted them to cut off all food and medicine to foreign countries cause we’re happy to pick up the slack with casseroles, “oh well.”
- If we think it’s fine to roll back all regulations that would have slowed the rate of climate disasters, because we don’t know anyone who has lost their home to fire, flood, or hurricanes, “la la la la la.”
What if we really believed that there is no separation between us, “the news,” “the president,” “Congress,” or anything else out there? So while we might draw the line at chanting “Fuck Ice!” in the street, what if we passionately paid attention to the news the way we listen to our friends and family’s hard times? What if we knew that every news article is a prayer request, and every hour spent protesting or writing our member of Congress is a loving act of service?
Tool (from my upcoming book): What Feelings Am I Using?
Purpose: Using a question to determine where feelings are getting in the way of a choice
How to use it: Say the question/clearing aloud:
What feelings am I using to create the separation between me and “politics” that I am choosing?”
and everything that is, am I willing to destroy and uncreate it all right now?
Yes!
You may not perceive a connection between the feelings and the (nonchanged or unpleasant) experience that you’re having, so that’s why you’re in the question. This question is not for you to answer. It is engineered to clear what Dr. Dain Heer (of Access Consciousness) would call “yuck, stuck & wtf” from your field so that your true intentions and knowing can bear fruit.
Best used for: Whenever you’re experiencing something really unpleasant, especially when you’re considering a change or something new in your life, but it’s not feeling good.
Reflection Questions
- Where am I separating myself from politics, pretending it has nothing to do with me?
- Where am I going a step further and pretending that I can’t make a difference in the world?
- What’s the real difference between the troubles of someone I know and someone I don’t know?