An uncomfortable truth

Occasionally we are forced to confront uncomfortable truths

Some unfortunately we are inured to, others are such a jolt to ‘our worldview’ that we can’t readily escape the emotional prison they lead us to.

What’s powerful about the second type of event is that these can also lead to personal and societal change and growth, like physical pain, emotional pain also has a purpose.

It’s how we identify with and respond to this pain which is important.

My current pain is Donald Trump.

Only twice before have I felt this hurt and this mystified by an event where I have lost hours and hours searching for the why? (The other events were as primary witness to a serious crime, and a teen suicide).

Surprisingly there is a common thread between these three events.

It’s not the person!

Not: Trump/Criminal/Suicide.

It’s the communities around them.

Trump, amongst other things, is an outcome of the support of two of the many types of communities that have always existed in the United States (and elsewhere);

• One driven by fear, not wishing to change, ignorant and unwilling to think independently or beyond the borders of their town, state or country.
• The other driven by a lust for power, control, personal wealth and – in common with the other group – retention of the status quo (their power).

Communities that are so invested in their prior narrative that they cannot correctly discern when things have gone too far

Trump is just the Messenger.

It’s an uncomfortable truth.

As the various merits of John McCain demonstrate, it’s not truly a political divide but one conveniently dressed that way to Trump’s advantage. Playing voters who vote for one side of the canyon or the other – with no consideration of a bridge between.

Trump has played this in plain sight. And those absorbed in their own self-interest and without question as to the purpose of their loyalties, have followed.

Consider this:

You go to a party that is populated heavily with:

• White collar criminals
• Dishonest lawyers, financiers, publicists
• Dubious celebrities
• People you know who regularly lie, cheat, embellish
• People known for always promoting themselves above others

What do you conclude about the host?

What do you do?

…and you elect him as President!!

You can’t change him, but we can all face the uncomfortable truth that as a society, as connected communities, we need to find better answers so we don’t end up here again.

At present far too much energy is going into looking at the person and not the issues that brought this person to the top of the pile in the first place. There lies the true source of my/our pain.

 

Note: I’m no expert on American Politics, but having lived 5 of the last 6 years in America, I feel I can at least share my observations.

I Am

In current times it’s inevitable that some of my posts will veer into politics.

With the surreal event taking place in Singapore at present I can’t resist passing comment on how our egos interfere with our effectiveness.

Safe to say if you’re reading this blog your ego is nowhere near the issue it is for the two men meeting in Singapore (which will be like Cage Fighting in suits with no physical contact).

However, we all have egos and they both serve and hinder us.

When you see things upside down, the ego can be extraordinarily funny; it’s absurd. But it’s tragic at the same time.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

If we carefully observe ourselves we’ll see our ego interfere with our lives on a constant basis, sometimes for good, but also to the detriment of doing the right or best thing:

• When we feel embarrassed – resulting in inaction when action is what is required.
• When we fail to acknowledge somebody –  because we’re either a tiny bit underwhelmed or a whole lot jealous, or mostly because we are too full of our own importance.
• When we do something we know is ‘not right’ – because it’s what we said we would do and can’t deal with our imagined ignominy in changing our course.
• When we lose focus on a conversation – because no one is listening to us (possibly because their egos are working overtime too, or, simply we are a bore).
• When we interject (my own personal Achilles) – because our ego can’t wait to show ours is bigger, brighter, funnier or more important (yeah right).

Though we may sigh in despair about the events unfolding and the painful rhetoric which will follow, we also need to take a moment to listen to and observe our own ego.

Imagine life if we trained our ego to understand what a good time can be – where it considered not just you but for those around you.

We need to both feed and nurture our ego but at all times be aware it’s with us.

Even if it’s not raging like some of the more public ego’s we see today, we need to actively manage our ego’s impact on ourselves and those around us. It’s a constant work in progress.

Where do you see the biggest impact of ego – either personally or from others?

What can we do to turn this ‘force’ to positive use?