What Does Today Mean For You and Your Life Path?
Momentous or just another day, there’s little difference.
Today is the day after one of the most significant elections in the United States. This has been the cause of a lot of conflict, disagreement, strife, depression, anxiety, and uncertainty for many. One side represents progress. The other, quite possibly, is the end of US democracy.
This is a big deal. It’s not something to be taken lightly. I voted and I hope that you did, too.
As momentous as the outcome will be, there’s little difference between yesterday, today, and tomorrow. At least, here and now, in this moment in time.
Right now, in this moment, today – are you impacted by this situation? Have the results of the election had an impact on your life, today? Probably not. That doesn’t mean that it won’t impact you or people you care about down the line. This is why voting is so important in the first place.
Today, however, along your life path, is simply another day. Today is no different because it’s another day in the great chain of days that make up the sum total of your life.
I’m not downplaying what might be a truly momentous day for the US and the world. However, you and I, living our lives every single day of the week, are still on our given life path no matter how today is different from yesterday.
There are many reasons I am offering this for your consideration today.
What you can’t control
Did you vote in the election? If so, congratulations, you exercised the only control you have in the process.
If you didn’t vote, guess what? You gave away all the control you had in the process and the outcome. Voting is more or less the only thing you can do in an election. Otherwise, you can and will have zero impact.
You cannot control how anyone else votes. Or doesn’t. You have zero control of the electoral college, the people who are hateful and scary, the people who are well-meaning but blatantly ignorant, and anyone else you can think of. None of them are in your control.
Lots and lots of things are out of your control. Like, all the time out of your control. Weather, traffic, how other people behave, trains, mail delivery timing, dogs, cats, and anyone or anything that’s not you.
Does that seem disempowering? Consider this – do you want to be controlled by someone else? Of course not. So why would you want to control anyone else? How does that empower you or them?
What you can’t control is far more things than what you can control. However, when you recognize and acknowledge this, you can do some rather amazing things.
What you can control today
Here’s the thing. Today is the only day you can control anything. Only in the moment, the present, the here and now, can you exert the slightest bit of control.
What does this matter in the face of truly horrifying things happening outside of your control? Energy goes where your attention goes. If you spend all your time focused on what you don’t and can’t control, you will make yourself sick, get depressed, drive yourself mad, or worse. When you are caught in the hype, the fear, the unknown of that which you cannot control, you disempower yourself.
What do you and can you control? All the inner bits of you. Your thoughts, feelings, actions, intentions, and approach. You can choose and decide what you are thinking, what and how you’re feeling, your intentions, if your approach is positive or negative, and your actions.
That’s more or less it. But that’s not insignificant, it’s a lot. You can use that to do things to impact the world at various levels. It begins with you, and it begins from within.
That can seem impossible. Especially when outside circumstances are causing you to feel fearful, concerned, angry, lost, and every other negative emotion possible. Ultimately, however, this is in your control. Completely and totally.
What can I do today?
Some days this question is more significant than others. Or rather, it feels that way. After a momentous happening, you might feel empowered or disempowered. Either way, that feeling is wholly external.
And here I digress. Look, I sure as hell didn’t think that Trump could win. He’s a convicted felon, he did a terrible job previously, and he has made a whole lot of very ugly promises about what he’ll do with this power. That people fell for his bullshit is a combination of stunning, upsetting, deeply disappointing, and terrifying. I thought people were, collectively, smarter than this, but the election results say otherwise.
What will happen next? I have no idea. What can I do today? Nothing. I did my part, I voted. In the coming months, I’ll take action where I can, attend protests (again), and continue to write these blogs as I strive to be a voice of reason and a source of light in a crazy, fucked up, often dim and/or darkening world.
I won’t be chased away from my home. My voice will not be silenced by fear. Today, I’m sharing my thoughts with you just like I do every week and have done for almost 13 years. Where I can, I will make my stand to help the people of this world live better, be better, and find their own empowerment.
Today I will process this. I will also maintain my sovereignty, keep my voice, and stand for the things I believe in. I’ll continue to offer my thoughts and ideas for choosing your life path to live as best that you can.
We’re none of us alone
You and I are still here, living and breathing. That means we can still do things to change our inner world. We are not defeated. This isn’t the end. And we are not alone.
Some people will leave. They’ll run somewhere they feel safer. I can’t blame them. You gotta do what you gotta do. Me? I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here to fight the good fight and work to help the people I care about still live as best they can.
Change is the one and only constant in the Universe. Nothing is written in stone. Today is another day and I will live it as best I can. You have the same power that I do, and we are, none of us, alone.
Your feelings are valid. Don’t hide from them. If you feel scared, hurt, or disheartened, that’s normal. I feel that, too. I know it sucks, and that you might be utterly uncertain about what to do next. Today might be momentous or just another day, but there’s little difference. You are here, you are alive, and you have the power to control your life and your path in it. That might feel like a lie, but it’s not.
You are not alone. Together, we have the power to make the best of anything the Universe hands us. How? I don’t know. But a way exists, even if I don’t know it. Today, I will leave you with the words of Michael Bernard Beckwith:
“You can start with nothing. And out of nothing and out of no way, a way will be made.”
What will you do with your life path today?
This is the six-hundred-seventy-second (672) exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – applying mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.
I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.
The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.
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