Don't Let It Bring You Down...

...because that doesn't help you or anyone else.

I find it funny that some people think, because I have strong views about the way many people of the world are manipulated by corporate elites, politicians and religious institutions, that somehow I shouldn't be happy living within it, or I'm making a point of flaunting some 'better awareness' - I should get angry and fight back the monolithic control, or get loud and bring other people down with my insight into such matters, making them feel bad about where they are. I don't think I am better aware than anyone else, because we all live the best way we see fit. We are all in this together, and it is vital to share our thoughts and understandings about life with each other. So many times I have had light-bulb moments from regular conversations with my friends and family because of something they've said, and further a-has! from books, essays, documentaries and even mainstream movies and articles, and then more holy-cows! from silence, trees, water and the vastness surrounding us.
Still, a lot of people think that if I am happy, I'm hypocritical - safe in the place I choose to live, doing the things I want to do, living well within my society as it stands... I should instead be forming some sort of protest movement, or travelling to far places to add my presence to rallying groups like Anonymous or Occupy ______, or living under a rock with disdain...
For the record: it makes more sense to me to volunteer for positions in committees that affect the future of my local community and help the children that live in it. It makes more sense for me to volunteer for organizations like the ITNJ and New Earth Nation, where my voice is added to the work of thousands trying to lift others up in positive ways. It makes more sense to invite people to my part of the world, so they may enjoy unspoiled nature and hospitality. It makes more sense for me to write poems, prose, blogs and songs, sharing them to help give light to the darkness that traps people in anger, arrogance, sadness or despair.

The way I go about 'protesting' is in positive, localized manners - and that whole "be the change you wish to see in the world" is not some psychobabbly Gandhi meme, it is a truth that has become more rote and less lived. This blog, these words, I use to confide; they allow me to get out the whirlwind of thoughts and feelings that rapture my soul, and into the hearts and minds of anyone who cares to read them. I am happy just to be able to express myself in this way, not because I may convince anyone of anything, but because it frees me up to take care of others and do the dishes and the laundry and countless other jobs, so I can do them in peace and with my full attention. This is today's rhapsody - Try not to get down about all the ludicrous things going on, find the things you can do that not only let you tolerate them, but rejoice in your ability to dissent without conflict.