Politics and Test of Faith
Okay, it may be next to impossible to feel certainty in anything, especially with all the changes that have been creating a sense of loss, apprehension, confusion, and mistrust in where our world is headed. What better way to challenge our beliefs and test our true alliances than a government election.
For years now I have remained very apathetic to the voting processes because I didn't trust it and because I figured that not voting was a way of exerting an opinion of not believing in the whole process. The trouble with this is regardless of my personal feelings about a man made system of governance, I do still have to live in it and be ruled by it in my day to day interactions. While many times I have been caught in moments of tantruming, moping, and belly aching about what "the system" was doing, it did not serve me at all to remain apathetic and to continue to be an absentee voter. As I hear so many people say, "if you don't vote you don't get the right to complain about the results". Isn't that true about all your life experiences? If you remain passive and don't take a stand for your inner knowing, then you've got no one but yourself to bitch at for not taking the step required to make the change you desire.
So this time around I listened. I observed. I attended the debate and really tuned in to what my intuition told me about the real process. I voted! and in doing so, I became part of a conscious shift in the attitude of our country in changing the political landscape...which in turn, will invite a wave of conscious choice towards an emerging humanity that cares enough to listen to their own inner conscious voice of Greater Good.
In the days leading up the election, I heard a great deal spoken about making a strategic vote in favor of one of the other stronger parties that were deemed most capable of overturning the PC Candidate Barry Devolin. I weighed it out, and admittedly was very impressed by some of what the other Candidates had to say, even though on principal I didn't favor the overall mandate of the party. I struggled with the decision for days...and then the moment came for a decision.
I stepped into that poll booth still with no clear direction as to where to cast my vote. I closed my eyes and asked my inner wisdom to guide me. It became abundantly clear that the only real decision I had to make was to honor my true values or not. It didn't matter about strategies, or power plays, or perceived inconsistencies in what the party platforms were; it didn't even matter all that much about who got elected or not...all that mattered was holding true to the integrity of what I felt in my heart of hearts to be true. I voted Green!
Now many people would scoff and say I threw away my vote. I guess it's all in how you look at it. Sure, it would have been nicely reasoned for me to vote for Liberal Laura Redman. She rated high in my radar of integrity and I did feel that she had the stuff it takes to be a great MP, but how integritious would it be for me to vote liberal when deep down I feel that despite Laura's high personal score, behind her was a party that carried forward an energy that did resonate well with me. When I guaged where I felt the most strong sense of identity, it was with the Green Party, but yet all I could hear around me was talk about how weak the Green Party was and that they would have to practically perform miracles to get any real representation. In that regard, it made more sense to align with a power that was perceived to actually be in a position to do something; at least according to the traditional 40 something percent of actual voter turnout from previous years that put the current party in power to begin with.
It got me to thinking about the large majority of our population who like myself stayed to the sidelines for all these years not voting because they felt it didn't matter. If every single one of those people decided to step up and actually vote...AND to vote for whom their heart truly aligned in values with...well that would be a vote that counted!
Yes I voted Green, and yes in my riding the Green Candidate Suzanne Lauten only gained 5% of the votes, but I walked away from that process with my voice intact and my heart not torn about voting against what I truly felt inside.
Now the PC Party sits in majority government. That too is a good thing, I guess, Even though my heart was with the Green Party, it does serve us well to have a government that has the ability to move things through without constantly being delayed and side tracked by waysayers. That too is true in a spiritual sense of our life journey. How much growth or progress can we actually make when our ego is constantly backlashing and causing us to second guess? If we allowed our ideas and goals to be laid aside every time someone disagreed or challenged us, we'd never accomplish anything.
So, I didn't throw away my vote, nor am I caving in to support a political aprty that I don't feel completely aligned with. However, it does serve me well to accept what is and learn to work in the best possible way with what is given. Sooner or later the strentgh of integrity of soul shines through everything anyway, regardless of what coat it might wear.
