OK, so I think I'm back. Thank you all for your support, and I am happy to report that the funk has mostly lifted, and there are just the faintest wisps of fog at the outskirts of my consciousness now. Nothing a little nice spring weather and sunshine can't clear away, methinks.
Mainly, I've just been very, very occupied. With work, but also with campaigning for the Texas primary, now thankfully, and unfortunately, over.
Here's something that I noticed during that process of calling and canvassing: Most people are completely unaware of their own power. Time and time again, I heard a helplessness, a powerlessness, a total abandonment of hope, a resignation to doormat-hood.
Aside from making me sad and frustrated, it also made me think: What causes this? Is this a fundamental human trait, or is it a way of being that is culturally ingrained? Is this specific to Americans, Westerners, or people all over the globe?
I don't have the answers to these questions, but I do know that people's potential for power--their intrinsic ability to direct their lives, make choices, achieve goals, find success, overthrow authority and create their own destiny--is far greater than most of us realize.
I know that in the last job I had, they were almost hell-bent on convincing me I'd be a failure without them. The message was always how dependent I was, how miserably I'd fail on my own, how the salary I was making was the most I could ever hope for, so I shouldn't ask for more. How long I believed them! And how totally false all of it was! I am finally independent, succeeding wildly, making more money and it turns out I needed them not at all.
I invite you to consider your own power. Think of the lies and manipulations being told to you on a daily basis by people you know, by corporations, by organizations, by governments. Recognize the potential for power within and stop believing the lies. Go deep within and try to get in touch with the unstoppable, infinite, unyielding power that lies within each of us.
Of course, you may find you're afraid of your own power. It places responsibility squarely on your shoulders. For some, that can be quite a burden.
However, I don't know about you, but I'd rather face the burden of responsibility than the far heavier, far more debilitating yoke of oppression that allows others to use you as their personal beast of burden, their domesticated ox.
Find your power, and be free.
1 comment:
Good to hear that you are out of your funk and that things are going well for you.
I'm here at SXSW Interactive and I noticed that Penelope Trunk, of "The Brazen Careerist," will be speaking a little later. I will probably go see her because I heard about her here at Gimme Bliss.
There are so many people here talking about finding a way to do what you're interested in, make it count, and balance your life--it's amazing.
I went to a talk yesterday by Henry Jenkins, Director of MIT's Comparative Media Studies, and he seems to be pretty upbeat that many more kids growing up do feel empowered to make change. He pointed out that while many people focus on the idea that Harry Potter has encouraged kids to read, the community that grew up around the book has also led to thousands of novels written by kids, hundreds of Wizard Rock bands, and a political group led by kids that has made a real impact on issues such as genocide in Darfur and child labor awareness. Many of us that grew up before the internet was a part of our daily life were taught that we had to become professionals before we could make a difference. The kids today are growing up in an amateur society and really participating in politics, culture, art, etc. earlier and at a much higher level.
Bringing it back again to your post, I think this is starting to impact politics (with Obama and Paul especially) and I can't wait to see how it will change the election process going forward.
Good to see you back.
--Matt C.
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