There’s no time that the division in America is more apparent than on election day. Anticipation and angst are at a peak today. For many, the fate of each of our inner worlds rest on the results of what will be announced at some point tonight or in the near future. Every 4 years, there is anger, tears, frustration, fear, shouting, finger pointing, name calling, shaming, judging, etc. Let’s be honest, that happens every day but it peaks on days like today.
We often blame it on the lack of good leadership. We think it’s someone else’s fault. We point fingers. We shout. We shame. We judge. We think our own ideas and beliefs are better than someone else’s. We are so closed off to anything other than our own thoughts and beliefs. If they could just live up to our ideals then America would finally be undivided.
Our leaders may not be working to unite us but that doesn’t mean that we can’t do it without them. We acknowledge the president’s authority because we have to. According to John Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership, following someone because of position is the lowest level of leadership. A position of external power doesn’t mean that we have to compromise our inner worlds in the face of their ideals. Nobody has control over my inner world except for me. This is the essence of true freedom. No matter who wins today, I will still have control of my inner world. I will still choose to show up with love and light… always.
We are so fortunate in the world we live in today because we can choose who we look to for inner guidance. In a matter of seconds, you can learn how Nelson Mandela transcended his anger while he was imprisoned for 18 years, how Jesus offered compassion to his oppressors, even while dying on the cross, or how Viktor Frankl, while imprisoned at Auschwitz, maintained the last true freedom available to all of us: the ability to choose one’s attitude under any circumstances. These leaders can still lead us today, even if they aren’t physically present with us. We can still look to their words and actions to unite and lead us.
America, there is only one way out of this and it’s up. We have to rise up. Success as a nation comes from unity, not division. The only way to unite is to drop our weapons, take off our shields and rise up. When we can rise up, we can finally see that we are all one. We are all the same. Progress isn’t about whose ideals are better. Progress is about everyone coming to the table as one and finding a unifying solution. Unity is about the people and not just about the leader. It requires each of its citizens to tap into their own inner leadership and show up with love and compassion and not hatred, anger, fear and judgement.
“In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”
From: “I have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
So regardless of the outcome today, I know that the path to the world that I want to live in starts with me. I need to stand up and shine light out into the darkness. I went to the polls, I cast my vote, and I walked away a free woman. Free from any chains that I could bring upon myself when I tie my inner world to something that is outside of my control. I’m free because I know that the fate of my inner world rests on me, not on the person sitting in power.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
From: Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Wisdom isn’t something that magically shows up in our characters. Wisdom is something that is earned in the depths of hardest times. Mandela built his wisdom and character while he was being beaten, tortured, urinated on and humiliated in prison. He chose to rise up in the face of adversity and this, America, is how we, too, can rise up. Our wisdom has to be earned and there’s no better opportunity to earn it than today.
“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.”
From: “Still I Rise” by Dr. Maya Angelou
America, are you ready to rise up? To show up with love and compassion today? To drop your weapons, your hateful words, your anger, and transcend to higher ground?
I’m ready America. Are you?
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