The environment has been so noisy lately. A lot of things have been going on, especially in politics, and if we're not mentally and emotionally strong, we will surely succumb to stress and pressure.
We lived in a very complex world filled with racial prejudices, conflicting opinions, patriotic narrow-mindedness, selfish interests, and rabid political loyalists.
It's becoming so toxic lately, made worse by supporters of warring political parties who use social media platforms to post vitriolic comments and throw attacks. Others are spreading fake news, misinformation, hatred, and hostility.
But politics itself is not the one dividing the nation, it's the people's misguided ideology and obsession with the political leaders they supported. The most dangerous thing is that this obsession is now rolled into delusion and fanaticism, making them unable to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
I guess it's fine to be active in sharing our views and opinions regarding the things we believe, but when we refuse to analyze all available information regarding the issues, that's when we lose our balance in judgment, and we will fall into bigotry. And that's madness.
Conflicts and wars are already ruining other parts of the world with so many lives being lost, and many people being displaced, and the least to happen now is to add distress to our day-to-day existence. So, I'm keeping distance from all these debacles in the current landscape of Philippine politics.
Unlike in the past when I was so vocal with my "ideology" in politics, and who I supported, today I adopted change and embrace being apolitical to keep me out of stress. It's pointless to be obsessed with misguided political leaders, it doesn't bring good to our mental health.
This wisdom of 13th-century Persian poet, Rumi, has a profound meaning in assessing our beliefs and views: "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself".
We can't change the world unless we change ourselves through the choices we made, perception and views on social issues. Remaining silent for a moment is necessary to figure out what's the right thing to do.
Silence or being quiet does not mean we're dumb or lack principles. It only means we're reflecting and discerning, and balancing the pros and cons of the issues, and what is right. Noise in the environment, especially from warring political parties, destroys inner peace and affects our views about the world.
It's okay to stay informed, to be aware of what's happening around, and express our political views, but there’s a difference between staying aware and developing an obsession with political leaders. Staying aware does not mean you're neutral, it only means you're discerning what is the truth and what is misinformation.
Developing an obsession with political leaders is the most toxic trait of being a citizen because fanatics only listen to the things favorable to their idols, they will never listen to the other side of the story, they will only listen to what they want to believe. Fanatics who are wildly obsessed can't see their idols' faults.
The worst part of being obsessed is that their loyalty is only to the political leaders they adored but never to the nation. They go to the path where their idols lead them even to the road of destruction.
So, observe and discern carefully if your ideology brings good to the nation or just favorable to only one person. Political intrigues and power struggles are sickening. Everyone is playing this game right now, and none of these "games" contribute to the betterment of the nation.
Political supporters tend to shut off themselves from finding out the truth because news items favorable to their idols satisfy them, even it is fake information. And what's gross with this obsession is that when you speak against their favorites, you will be attacked and condemned.
These fanatics in politics who seem to be normal and educated turn into irrational human beings and hate-filled individuals. And they all feel justified in their hatred and obsession.
According to the author, Ayodeji, in his online article: 5 Ways Your Obsession with Politics is Ruining Your Life:
If we are obsessed fanatics to a political leader, we will be stressing ourselves to death, but is it worth it? "You’re stressing yourself out over noise — salacious, misleading, and often irrelevant information. Again, ask yourself, is it worth it? What are you actually gaining and what are you losing in the process?"
He said, "If you spend too much time following politics, watching the news, and obsessing over social media, you’ll distort your view of reality. Video footage can lie to you. You can cut and edit videos to deceive people. You’ll often see this when a partisan news outlet cuts someone’s statement short to make it look bad and bury the rest of the statement that provides the real context"
"An obsession with politics leads you to believe that the leaders you admire care about you, giving you a false sense of hope that they will come through and give you what you want and come to the rescue, but will they?"
It’s fine to care about the politicians we vote for and to stay updated with what's going on, but when we refuse to listen to both sides of the story and assess the situation carefully that's when we lose our balance of judgment.
Being obsessed with politics ruins one's life. Fanatics may think they are making a huge impact right now, for expressing support to leaders who have many faults, but what will they gain in the long run? Will it improves the quality of life of the people? Will it makes the nation great? The polarizing issues will only make them more bitter, hate-filled people.
So I'd rather shift my loyalty to the nation rather than to political leaders. Their term will expire but the positive impact of good leaders on the nation will endure.
The national election is fast approaching, it's another opportunity to choose a new set of leaders. My list of who to vote is composed of candidates with proven track records in good governance and public service, and qualified to perform the responsibilities of the position they run, and above all competent to do the mandates of the position they will occupy if they win.
I'll just spend my days in peace rather than get involved in political discussions. Mindfulness protects inner peace. Being quiet provides an opportunity to listen to ourselves clearly, away from the distracting noises of the environment.
So to keep me out of stress and protect my inner peace, I adopted these changes:
- I stay out of the discussion of politics and warring political groups. Two of the most polarizing topics online are religion and politics. You will never win if you join debates about these subjects because people will defend and fight to death with what they believed in, and there's no way they will give up their beliefs. So it's useless to engage in arguments.
- Staying informed with what's going on. But instead of listening to one group only, I listen to both sides of the story to come up with a balanced opinion.
- My loyalty is to the nation and not to a certain political leader. I am not obsessing politics and leaders, I am for who can deliver better service to the country.
- I always read news with an open mind and making sure I read authentic information from credible sources. Misinformation and fake news are rampant online. We need to be careful with what we read.
- I never attack or question someone's belief and opinions.
- I make it a point to set aside a certain time of the day to relax, to breath, and to unwind to protect myself from being "overloaded" with work and distressing news.
- I stopped worrying things that never matter in my life and just focus on the things that I should be doing. There are things that we cannot control from happening, stuff that bound to happen beyond our control, so let it be. There are loads in life that we are not supposed to carry.
- I am staying positive and minding my own life. I also stopped worrying about the things that are not yet happening. I am living in the moment. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
"To understand the immeasurable, the mind must be extraordinarily quiet, still.”― J. Krishnamurti
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