I hesitated to use a curse word in this post but I couldn't think of another word that really said what I needed to say. We have reached this point, as a nation. We all have shit to deal with. We all have wounds, scars, fears, stumbling blocks, etc. In my formative years, I had a family model of, "Sweep that under the rug. We're going to argue about ten thousand stupid things that don't matter and ignore that giant elephant in the room." By the time I reached my 20s, I realized that this method wasn't working for me. I was being medicated for anxiety and depression because I hadn't learned how to process my emotions and life experiences in a healthy way. I had to face my shit. Head on. I chose homeopathy and it has made an enormous difference in how I deal with life. But that's not the point of this post. If anyone cares about my experiences with homeopathy, I'll write another post.
The point is that I meet so many people who aren't dealing with their shit. They don't look at who they really are and what makes them happy. I'm not talking about being content. I'm talking about being HAPPY. Joyous, really. Knowing in your soul that you are where you are supposed to be, doing what you're supposed to be doing. I'm still working towards this myself, but I AM working on it. Why are so many people okay with a life that doesn't fulfill them? And I recognize that fulfillment is different for every person. Some people are fulfilled by their careers. Some by raising their children. Some by traveling the world while others are happy staying close to home. Whatever works for you. Whatever makes YOU happy.
I think a lot of people don't bother to figure out what makes them happy. It's too scary. They might have to make some changes. They might have to take some risks. They might have to listen to that voice in their heart that says, "This isn't your path." They might have to simply trust that voice and trusting something that isn't tangible is scary. I understand fear. I get not wanting to rock the boat because you have absolutely no idea where the pieces are going to fall or how the hell you're going to pick them up and put them back together once they HAVE fallen. I've been there too many times. And you know what? It always works out; usually for the better and often in ways I've never dreamed of. The Universe is pretty cool like that.
Now, what got me on this kick? I've been watching the political antics of our country and all I hear and see is shit. Shit that no one wants to deal with. We can't let the economy collapse and naturally correct itself so we'll print more money and devalue our currency while prices inflate. We can't tell people, "No, we can't give you that for free anymore. The party's over. Figure out your own shit." We can't create a responsible financial plan to get our country out of debt because... well, I can't actually figure out that "because". I have no idea why getting ourselves out of debt isn't the next logical step to everyone from the President down to the average citizen. Oh wait, because we don't want to deal with our shit. The failing social programs, the restrictions and taxes on small businesses, the crushing environmental protection laws, politicians who are more interested in re-election than actually doing what is right... this is OUR shit. We created this with our crazy dances around all the elephants.
If we don't look in the mirror and deal with our own shit, we reflect more shit out and create it all around us. And here we are. A few decades of, "Shhh... don't talk about the elephant in the room. Talk about everything else that's a result of the elephant and pretend that the symptoms are really the problem." Kind of like, "Take this pill for your depression but don't look at what's really depressing you and deal with your shit." Yes, it would have sucked to let the big banks fail but it would have been a short-term hurt. Not the long-term hurt it's turning out to be. Yes, it will suck in the short term to go to a flat percentage tax system (where EVERYONE pays - not just 50% of us) but in the long run, we would have a massive amount of economic growth. For starters, companies wouldn't have to deal with pages and pages of tax code which would cut their costs and enable them to lower prices while maintaining their profits. Plus an additional 153,503,275 American citizens actually paying what they owe for using our roads, schools, hospitals, police, fire, prisons, etc. would be a nice chunk of change.
It's time to deal with our shit. It's time to get involved. Stop voting for people just because they have a R or D beside their name. Look at the track record of people up for re-election. Are they doing what you want them to do? Do you even know what you want them to do? Figure it out. If a candidate doesn't have a political track record yet (challenging the incumbent) then look at their business or career track record. What have they done? What they say they will do is all fine and dandy but what have they DONE? That's the important bit. Kind of like dating a cheater - he/she says they'll never do it again but when their record shows that they've done it 6 times before, it's time to pull your head out of the sand and tell them that you're done. They don't get your vote or your heart, whichever the case may be. Leave them to deal with their own shit.
So that's what I had to say this morning. I tried to keep this simple and digestible to the average person who doesn't get as into politics as I do. But my main point isn't political so much as that we need to deal with our shit as individuals and as American citizens. Because the shit is about to hit the fan and it isn't going to be pretty when it does.
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