Election Anxiety: Kill It With Kindness

In the last week of the election, anxiety in our country is palpable. But I also am starting to realize that it is how we think, feel, and act after the election that is really important. Whoever wins, someone loses and that group of people will feel sorrow and disappointment (and anger, fear, etc.). It is how we act before and after this election that will shape the direction we take as a country in the future.

It seems to me that kindness may be the best antidote of sorts to both anxiety now and the emotions that will arise in the aftermath of the election.

1. Be kind to your body. Notice your body a little bit more this week with a kind eye, not a critical one. Watch when the physiological symptoms of anxiety are increasing. When you notice that your stomach is 'tight' for example, pause and breath into it a bit, calm it, and then go about doing what you were doing. I heard a Buddhist monk say that he overcame his social anxiety by stopping himself every 2 minutes throughout the day to detect its physicals signs earlier and earlier (stomach tightening) and to breath slowly until it subsided.

2. Be kind to your mind. Perhaps reduce, rather than increase your viewing or listening time to the polling and pundits. Rather than watch more and more as the race comes to an end, be selective (and watch less), take a walk, meditate, listen to music, paint, visit friends, or do something to help someone else. Get out of the environment that fuels your anxiety and spend time nurturing yourself or others. You can also volunteer for your political party and take action rather than think about it.

3. Be kind to the world. Pay attention to other things in the world. I saw an Indian anchorwoman the other night saying that the people of India really don't care who wins our election, they are much more focused on what's happening in their own country. Remember that this election - while of great importance to us - is one of many many events affecting billions of people other than ourselves.

4. Kindness is on the rise. While humans share a biologically rooted self-centered drive to survive, there is an emerging recognition of our deep interconnectedness (biologically, ecologically, and consciously). It is in this latter awareness - once realized by all - that will lead to a world of compassion and kindness. Until we get there, we can each play a part in its revelation by attending to our individual awareness, acting in accord with it, and being patient in the process. We cannot force it or make it happen faster than its natural pace (evolution is generally relatively slow).

5. Kindness trumps everything else. Practice compassion toward yourself and others, especially in this last week and in the aftermath of the election. To be compassionate requires that you be kind, be mindful (attentive to the present experience) and remember that we are all part of the human condition.

Henry James once said, "Three things in human life are important:

The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind."

Now is the time to practice all three.

Comments

[Swerinjer2]

Their parents obviously helped them with their sign.

[BluePrideSMW]

and do take time to appreciate the momentous tsunami of legacy you are witnessing...

Abraham, Martin & John...Moms Mabley sings sweetly, soulfully:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge32xtm23rQ

[2sunny]

Oh! I bow down to your words today. This has been my mantra for some time now. I especially like repeating to myself, "you will never be sorry, you were kind."
While talking on the phones at the DEM centers in Maine I find myself being especially patient to those undecided voters. A compassionate voice goes a long way....They need a voice of reason and that WE are in this together.
Go/Win Obama/Biden team!

[Eli Davidson - Huffpost Blogger]

What a wonderful post! Here's to starting a Kindness Revolution!

[riafern]

The Indian women is so wrong ,every thing that happens here is front page news in major metros like Bombay .. there is a lot of buzz about Obama .
As a democratic country it puzzles most urban circles why such a fuss over a bi racial candidate .while India has its own mess ,but we do have a minority person as Prime Minister ,a woman as president and an Italian white woman who is leader of a major party ,America is a super power and gets enough attention in the press .The ripple effect of stock market woes is evidence enough .What will be great to watch is how the next president engages with other democratic countries in the future and how the relations will grow .I just think most are watching what the outcome of these elections will be and how it plays out in Asia and the rest of the world in terms of peace and commerce . there are people in India that wish we would unite as one country, just like there are millions in the US who wish the same of this great country .
Most Indians who came here for the opportunties remember their roots but live peacefully in America .
Yes kindness can quell that feeling of uneasiness in your stomach .ask me I have been mistakened for an arab so many times after 9/11 .It has taught me to forgive and still be kind to those who judge me although I