For Those Who Would Govern

Dear Partners in Green,

It is certainly hard to be optimistic in light of the weather events and dire forecasts. What has been predicted is now “coming to pass,” an old idiom or phrase often used to indicate that what is happening is the result of a course of events. That it was predictable.

I am reminded again of the essay by Gordon Leff, titled The Dissolution of Middle Ages, in which he writes, “Great and fundamental changes in outlook do not come in an instant. The dissolution of the medieval outlook was the work of centuries. There is a time-lag that enables people to live with discontinuities long after they have occurred. It is due to the principle of inertia which is as strong in human society as in nature; but in society it has the added element of will, in wanting to continue in the same attitudes, often long after they have become intellectually untenable or practically inconsistent. Only when they become so irreconcilable that they contradict the very ends they are supposed to serve are they usually abandoned, and then not without a struggle, and a rearguard action extending in some cases over centuries.”

We do not have centuries, we do not have decades.

We have this moment. And it is now that we must commit ourselves to living in the reality of the moment, of this time in human history. When the future lies in the balance.

So speak, vote, live, accordingly. Take the long view. And just imagine what life will be like for your children, grandchildren and beyond if you don’t.

The word agency comes to mind, that sense of control that you feel in your life, your capacity to influence your thoughts and behavior, and have faith in your ability to handle a wide range of tasks and situations. Your sense of agency helps you become psychologically stable, yet flexible in the face of conflict and change.

Here’s to agency!

This month, keep on keeping on, and stay awake.

Following, is a “poem” by Joy Harjo; appropriate questions to be asked of ones who believe they are qualitied to govern:

FOR THOSE WHO WOULD GOVERN

First question: Can you first govern yourself?

Second question: What is the state of your own household?

Third question: Do you have a proven record of community service and compassionate acts?

Fourth question: Do you know the history and laws of your principalities?

Fifth question: Do you follow sound principles? Look for fresh vision to lift all the inhabitants of the land, including animals, plants, elements, all who share this earth?

Sixth question: Are you owned by lawyers, bankers, insurance agents, lobbyists, or other politicians, anyone else who would unfairly profit by your decisions?

Seventh question: Do you have authority by the original keepers of the lands, those who obey natural law and are in the service of the lands on which you stand?

Now for an encore presentation:

Wishing peace and health to you and your loved ones.

Thank you for being on this journey.

Till next time,
Beth