ELECTION DRAMA AND CHAOS

Here we are, in the last days of another “Too close to call” race that leads to who knows where. The runners, at every level from President to Dogcatcher, are feeling the heat. Their promises grow more compelling and outlandish by the day. AI fueled ads are spreading disinformation like peanut butter……and it gets harder to know what is real and what is illusion.

It is, after all, big business……the endless TV ads, the mega-rallies, and the mega donations. The media giants love the hoopla, and the profits.

Damn! Sometimes democracy can get a little crazy.

Democracy. The word itself is meant to refer to the “the people,” the great masses who cast their votes and choose their leaders That’s right……democracy is supposed to be about “us”……you and me. Is that the way it actually works?

Once the winners are decided the spoils will be assigned and divided. Some folks will get what they wanted. Others will have won a sense of loss. And, you might ask, what about me? How will I be feeling? What will the results mean to me?

In my muddled mind, as I watch the swirl of election madness come closer, I am occasionally  inclined to stake my claim on one side or the the other.  Then I pause to remind myself that it is time to keep both feet on the ground, ready to walk whatever path emerges from the chaos.

To be sure, our role is to vote……to vote for what seems right to us.

Yet, no matter what the outcome I must be ready to live in the world as it is, and will become. After all, I am convinced that no one else has a greater role in shaping my future……whatever it may be……than I do. As always, whatever future we face, now is the time for me to consider what works best for me and mine.

It seems to me that in a world too often dominated by ‘extremes’ my future is best served by seeking the middle ground.….the path that deals with those extremes when necessary. Time will tell how well that approach serves me.

CAN. YOU SPARE A PRAYER?

There are some things in life that I have never mastered. I may have danced around the edges, and tried to do better……but it still feels like I have come up short.

Can you relate to that sense of failing? I suppose every one of us can remember times when we could not “get with the program” as well as we wanted.

So what is it that has me revisiting my own periodic sense of coming up short? What failing would be worth the effort to fill an empty blog page with my ramblings? 

Truth to tell, my list of shortcomings probably includes more than a few candidates. But right now my focus is on one particular, and altogether important activity, And that, my friend, has to do with my often stumbling inability to PRAY effectively.

That’s right. On this day in October I am sensing a deep deficiency in my ability to compose, speak, and feel the prayerful thoughts I long to express.

It is not something I brag about……my intermittent prayer life. My efforts are apt to be brief, and short of the preferred solemnity. But I often feel the need to express my gratitude for the way life has blessed me. When I sense that need I am inclined to offer thanks in an often informal way.

So it is, I can offer my prayers of thanksgiving. But when it comes to petitions for Divine assistance, especially for others, I seem to come up short. And that is exactly where I am today……watching news reports of storms marching through Hurricane Alley, and fellow humans who may well be losing everything…….through no fault of their own.

How can we, with our feeble prayers, enlist the help they so desperately need? To even hope for the best feels like an ultimate act of faith…….yet it seems to me the best I can do.

With that I will renew my prayer……and send my paltry check to an appropriate charity.