Dear Fed Up:

I rarely get letters as conscious as yours… most people just enjoy hating politicians, Bush or whomever, and wonder why they are so angry, tense or whatever. I applaud you for your self-awareness and wanting to “stop this insanity.” However, the first place to stop the insanity is in your own thoughts (and, no, I’m not a Republican).

With the war in Iraq, homophobia running rampant here in the U.S.A. and our civil rights fast eroding, this world needs all the generosity, kindness and wisdom it can get. Sounds good, right? But how do we get from feeling pissed off at Bush, Iraq, etc. to being kind and generous?

We start with ourselves. We need to find a zone of peace for ourselves. Instead of becoming entangled in an embattled bitterness or cynicism that exists externally, let’s address those qualities within ourselves and face our own suffering, our own fear, and transform them into compassion for others (and, yes, this includes even Dubya).

Albert Camus writes, “We all carry within us our places of exile, our crimes, our ravages. Our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to transform them in ourselves.” Hating Bush only brings us misery… while he’s off at his ranch in Texas, having a good time.

If we want to stay sane and calm while getting involved in politics, we need to quiet our mind and open our hearts. Turn off the news, turn on peaceful music, walk through Balboa Park or some other beautiful place and find some peace. If we’re not peaceful, how can we help create harmony in the world? If our own minds are not peaceful, how can we expect peace to come through the actions that we take?

Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart, said, “We can either react to terrorism and insecurity with fear, and create a frightened, barricaded society – a fortress America, or we can respond calmly, with both prudent action and a fearless, steady heart.”

Part-time Escondido resident and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, “When the crowded refugee boats met with storms or pirates, if every one panicked, all would be lost. But if even one person stayed calm, it was enough. It showed the way for everyone to survive.”

You, dear reader, need to be that one calm person. Once you make your heart a place of peace and integrity, you can help others do the same. Many of us get angry and depressed because we feel helpless to change this messed-up world. We can reduce our helplessness by taking action in our own world, with people we know and “war” with. We can help to stop the war in Iraq (or any war) by quieting the wars that we start and encourage in our own lives, with our friends, family and coworkers. Inner (psychological) peace grows from awareness of what we’re thinking and doing, and compassion and respect for ourselves and others. External peace requires the same conditions, and yet we are bombarded on a daily basis with propaganda from every political point of view. It dulls our senses and overwhelms us. Whatever our political perspective, we can’t help but encounter troubling images and feel anger, frustration, even rage and hatred. Underneath these reactions is always fear. The antidote to fear is wise action.

Wise action means starting now to plant “seeds” of peace, for however long it takes, to benefit our society and ourselves. It might be registering people to vote, or working politically, or making our LGBT vision heard in organizations of power or in the government. It’s not enough to sit in your Mercedes (or Toyota) and just watch the world go down the tubes.

“Fed Up,” I salute your intention to be a good spiritual person and help bring more peace into this troubled world. It’s too easy to become a “hater,” sitting on our butts yelling at CNN and watching our blood pressure rise. For our own mental health, and that of the world, we can take action and have faith that our actions will bear fruit. If we set a long-term intention, it remains empowering no matter who wins a particular election, or what governments rise and fall.