There's So Much More to Life Than This Election

This election has galvanized so many Americans. The divide that had been growing steadily for a number of years now brings out not just the best but, more and more, the worst in us.

You've been noticing, right? The way we speak to each other, the language we employ, the lack of concern with right and wrong in favor of getting our way. All results in the unrest we're seeing. Unrest? Let's face it, violence directed at our society, our way of life: riots, looting, burning down commercial establishments, even attacks on personal residences. You can't soft-peddle this.

But it's not just attacks on things. These attacks are on us - personally and individually. People have been injured, killed. People.

And there's no end in sight.

So the election looms, and our divided society seems to be hanging its hat on who wins.

How do you parse that divide? Is it left/right, liberal/conservative, socialist/capitalist, Democrat/Republican? (And those are only some of the possibilities!) In all this, we've avoided the "T" word, but we all know our President remains the lightening rod through it all.

As never before, discussions with family, friends, clients, colleagues, sometimes even perfect strangers, involve this election. Through it all, I struggle to promote sanity and civility. Sometimes I succeed.

Maybe you believe the election will solve everything - whatever that might mean. Maybe you don't.

Without minimizing the purported importance of this election (although it seems almost every election in recent memory is "the most important election of our lifetime"), there's more to life than this election - so much more. Suggestion: Take some time - maybe a lot of time - with that "so much more."

Let's break it down into physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.

Physical:

Most of us can use a little buffing here: what we eat, what we drink to start. Healthy stuff? 

Recently I read a book by Dr. Willam Davis: Wheat Belly. I'm not telling you to read it or to go gluten-free as I have, based on the research the good doctor offers. But I'm feeling better. My health has improved. It took time to read and absorb what he was saying. And I had no intentions of giving up the wheat-based products that made up a chunk of my diet. His argument was simply so thorough and compelling, it was something I thought I had to do - for what it's worth.

Most of us can use a buff - or more - on our bodies. Yeah, exercise. 

What? You can't get to the gym? An investment guy I read from time to time complained that his gym was closed, and so he's gained weight since the lockdowns began. Really? He couldn't find anything else to do besides using machines or weights in a gym?

A few years back, I discovered an online service, Beachbody on Demand. I subscribed on a whim. (I'd always done some exercise - varying things - for years.) It's been terrific. Of course, you have to be able to turn on your laptop and click on the URL to get going. (For me, it's the early morning.) And you'll probably have to clear space in your home and go about your business by yourself (unless you can interest a family member or friend to join you). Then again, I gave up gyms many years ago. Takes too much time. And - before I ever heard of COVID - the germ thing just seemed like it was best to avoid. 

Whatever your proclivity for exercise, find what you need and get on with it. You won't regret it.

Mental:

I was going to skip this one. But it is one of those areas of our life on earth that should garner at least a modicum of care and attention. Of course, for many of us, our minds may be that area that's hardest to wrap our minds around.

First of all, the younger segment of our population has gotten short shrift when it comes to critical thinking skills. "What are these?" you may ask. Definition: "the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment." 

Let's not dwell on this one. Just read the definition and ask yourself how you stack up here. Do you tend to react emotionally to issues and simply go with your feelings? Or do you - despite your emotions - step back and take the time to analyze and evaluate, a la the definition above? 

The reason not to dwell is this: I know people who, given the choice, will simply stick with their emotions. They think it's perfectly fine to flow with their feelings. In fact, there's probably some weird logic that tells them that critical thinking is a tool of the enemy, something intended to oppress them, maybe even some racist concept invented by white people (particularly males) to keep the rest of us under their thumbs. 

For that reason, let's just let everyone decide if it's worth boning up on critical thinking skills to sharpen the mind and enable good decision making informed by a well-formed conscience. Warning: If you don't think it's worth it...well, I'll skip what I was going to say. 

We'll save emotional and spiritual for another post.

For now, it's a Sunday - the Lord's Day in fact. There's lots of good stuff to spend time on that makes life  worth living, part of that "so much more." - despite the civil war that's brewing)

(Yeah, it really is some sort of civil war going on out there. If you haven't realized it yet, have a cup of Sunday morning coffee and wake up.)

Now that I'm back from Sunday Mass, think I'll start with some special prayers to praise God and thank Him for His blessings. Not a bad way to spend a chunk of your Sunday, no?