HOLDING OURSELVES HIGH

I may have touched a little on politics in a way on my blog here before because I have had to share my thoughts on how access to affordable health care impacts those of us with an invisible illness just as it does someone with a visible one.  That said I am going to get a bit off topic with this impromptu blog today to share my thoughts on the now decided presidential election.

Last night I was one of those people who breathed a little sigh of relief because of some of the choices America made were that of my choices. But I also felt very concerned about some of the other choices that were decided that were not that of mine. But the general feeling I have been having for a while regarding our leaders in public service as well as the issues presented as measures is that they really only do so much for our everyday lives. That it is primarily up to us as individual people to try to take the most responsibility for our own lives and our destiny as possible. Grant it elections are important. I am not casting that aside. We hire and pay these people to try and uphold the country in the manner we (hopefully) will see fit even if not perfect. But the fact of the matter is what we do each day is even more important.

Apparently I am not alone here. Several posts on Facebook this morning gravitated towards the same thing. A friend posted a sign that basically said if you want change to try the following as it listed basic things like eating local, organic food. Avoiding fast food. Avoid big box corporate stores or other Chinese import stores. Buy used instead of new. Stop using credit cards. You get the picture. And while not all of us are able to accommodate or afford these better choices in our lives simply due to necessity, even if you committed to one or two of them, it would be a positive change. For instance, I have long been an advocate of eating better and living proof that doing so can improve a medical condition. Maybe not cure it but improve it greatly. I am not always a slave to it, but I do my best. A gluten-free, organic, non-GMO and mostly vegan diet is not an easy act to follow, but it is possible to do a great percentage of the time. This means less medication to counteract the side effects of what the other types of edible choices out there can do to me which in turn is less money out of pocket and therefore fewer trips to the doctor. And there is a reward that is the biggest incentive-I feel better. And when I feel better, it is not just better for me but my family and friends and those who need me. I can be more productive and balanced. And that is just a spec of dust on the idea of personal responsibility.

We can to some extent be in charge of our own destiny. We can try to make a difference in our own lives as well as someone else that is in need. Even living with an illness, we can make changes that will be more positive for our families, our communities and ourselves as a whole. Even if you just picked one thing to start with you think you could handle, it is better than nothing. It is a beginning on reaching inside yourself for the inner strength you know is there. And while it is important to keep up with what is going on in our country and our world, while being educated about the issues we face as a whole is crucial, it does little good to flood ourselves with the 24 hour media that comes at us from every corner. So maybe it should not get so much attention. Turn it off and turn your life on instead.

The presidential election has been decided for the next four years. That means if we are lucky to be alive and well as we can be we get another four years. Another four years to move forward. To try and grasp where we want to be ourselves in four years. What was not working for us the last four years that we were personally doing? What should we change in our own lives to make it better? What would we like to try and accomplish in four years? To reach such goals, even if just one or two, so when we go to the polls in another four years we can use it sort of as our own marking in time to look back and see where we have been, and where we are hopefully going. This may be more challenging for those of us with medical conditions but I find that sometimes we can set examples and inspire quite possibly better because of this. So for my next four years as President of myself, I start with this idea however small. After all, we owe it to ourselves. You owe it to yourself. And we owe it to our country as well.