The Personal Vote
The democratic process gives each citizen the opportunity to partake in electing a leader among the available choices during an election; but also, any democracy grants us the right to be fully ourselves and gives us the opportunity to cast a personal vote each day of our lives with the choices we make.
November 9th, 2016 marks a historic time in the United States. As in many other presidential elections when the power of democracy grants the right to a society to go out and cast a vote based on certain choices; those people are given the opportunity to become active participants, co-creators of change.
I am not going to focus on who is the chosen leader in this election but rather on the power of having access to a ‘democratic society’ and the privilege of enjoying the “right to vote.” This brings further awareness to the importance and responsibility which goes along with not just ‘having’ but also with ‘exercising’ that right.
Personally, I was born and grew up in dictatorship in Argentina where nobody had that privilege of “choice” during my youth. The fact is, that it is a real ‘privilege’ to be able to choose, to be able to vote. Furthermore, it is a right to be able to choose if you wish to vote. In my country still now under a new democratic government those qualified to vote, must vote and if they don’t show up to do abide by this duty they will likely be arrested for not voting. For this reason, I am very aware of all the choices we get to enjoy when we are part of a democracy; choices occasionally taken for granted, which are important ingredients of a democratic society which gives citizens the opportunity to be heard, to have each a voice should they choose to use it.
Today, I will reflect upon the personal choice one gets to make in a democratic society, the one to become oneself and to choose to be an active participant of society by simply being YOU!
The future may seem uncertain for most of us looking at the scary ‘unknown’ of what is to come as a result of having this new chosen leader. Change is frightening but even more scary is not to be able to be co-creators of change. So, I wish to encourage us all to remember that in the end, the most transcendental change happens from within, it springs from the inside outwards. We must never underestimate the power of our daily personal vote. The power of one single individual to change the course of events in the world. Today, in spite of the results and how we may feel about the outcome, we can stand up and continue to make a choice. I propose we each vote for the only person who counts the most, the only one we can control and know for a fact how he/she will act: ONESELF.
Thus, today and every day I am voting for me. Not for selfish reasons but because it is my personal duty to my society to bring forward the best in me. It is my responsibility to exercise the freedom I once didn’t have in my homeland, to speak and to write my mind, to express my thoughts, my ideas, my beliefs and values by voting by means of my choices. Each of us partakes in this voting process daily. I vote daily by how I spend each dollar, by what I put on my plate at the table every single day, by how I drive, by how I treat others: friends, acquaintances, and even strangers, by how I approach each action, interaction and breaking moment of my life. The list could go on and on as to how I can vote at each turn of my existence with each thought I feed to my brain, each emotion I bring to my heart and each little thing I choose to bring to fruition in my daily life.
In the early days of my career I studied Social Psychology. I was then taught that the optimal way to change the world is through politics, but I knew I didn’t have it in me to become a politician in the real sense of the word because I couldn’t survive that environment. I am too authentic and not willing to corrupt myself or my values in any way, shape or form. This is why I choose to work at changing the world from the energy radiating from the inside out. Perhaps if something I say, write or do happens to become motivating or engaging enough, I may be inspiring one person at a time; and maybe that person in turn inspires yet another person and so on and so on. In this very simple way, the rippling effect of change from one person to another continues to spread through this fabric of life and we can all become active politicians.
I have to admit that now I can write all this freely because I am fortunate to be a Canadian citizen as well as an Argentinean one. It is ironic that with such intense need for me to express myself, my soul found in Canada what became my homeland for the past 25 years: a land of true freedom. I am so appreciative and ever so proud to be part of this land and society where so many different people live together in relative harmony, speaking different languages and honoring and shining with pride the wide array of colors depicting their backgrounds without a need to become a “melting pot”; but quite the opposite, with the encouragement to be part of a ‘multicultural mosaic’, a ‘collage of diversity’ in which we are encouraged to use our freedom to celebrate and honor our diversity, to shine and bring forward what makes us different. Each citizen of this beautiful country is inspired to bring forward what is unique and different as a true gift and contribution to society, a duty to enrich the community and to benefit our country. So many colors and shapes and ways of life can co-live in harmony and that piece of art is called: Canada. A true social attempt to manifest the spirit of union, cooperation, integration, inclusion and sharing. A place to find our true North as a whole, always honoring and preserving the values of all races, languages and cultures. I am so very proud to be part of this evolving society. It is far from perfect but one of the closest in the democratic world to reflect my values, without being a ‘commune’ or some other ‘alternative form of society’ which may actually appear inclusive but may turn out to be more exclusive than inclusive in the end… There is no perfect or ideal place to hide, to live, to exist… However, we can find a place within to call home by making peace with ourselves and moving from there outwards in an attempt to cultivate and flourish the very best in ourselves and others. Canada is to me the ideal soil for me to excel at being “me”.
After learning the results from this just past election I can see why some people are scared and others are skeptical. I am tempted to fall into the same trap. However, I will consciously choose to transcend fear and place my faith on all the good which could happen, to deposit my hope on the potential miracle that the leader elected in this democratic process may choose to use his term and power to make the best choices of inclusion, of union, of cooperation and of integration. I can only hope that he may support measures which may bring about the best in all of us; thus allowing us all to sow the right seeds of love, unity, compassion, integration and understanding so that we may all in the end get to harvest the fruits of love and peace in this world. Perhaps I am way to naive but it is always better to believe just in case our belief can help create an energy current towards real change for the better…
I’m hoping you can join me. Let’s choose ‘faith and trust’ instead of ‘fear and doubt’ and remain optimistic that this new leader may also work from the inside out and could potentially bring the very best virtues from within and that he might let those virtues from the common-ground of the universal human spirit and heart find that pure source within to shine wisdom and light on each of his decisions to bless us all with a better world to live in. Rather than being afraid I am voting to keep my hopes up for a miracle to happen! And miracles can happen only if we believe the impossible can become possible; and if we feel each day we can still exercise the power to continue to cast our own personal vote. This is how we become active participants of the democratic process of co-creating change from the inside out. From this inner place we can find the strength to look at the eyes of the unknown with optimism, faith and trust.
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