(If you started reading this as an email – you can skip to *****)

As the elections approach I notice my level of stress increasing.
I feel deeply within my soul that my country needs more love and compassion.
The United States also needs more connection: people connected to themselves, to each other, communities  interconnected and supportive of all individuals and our natural world.    

The best way I know to help our world is this November I will be voting with and for love and compassion. Love and compassion are going to be my guiding principles when marking my ballot. I don’t want to vote against things or vote out of fear or anger. I want my heart filled with love when I vote.

I also want to feel connected to others, so I am writing this to encourage you to vote with love. Talking about the election can be hard because of the stress and because of the divisiveness in this country. I know families, friends, and acquaintances who are distraught over who is voting for who. And it makes it harder for people to connect and be supportive of each other.
I can ask everyone to vote with love for yourself and compassion for others. If they mark their ballots differently than my choices, but they do it out of an open-hearted love, then it brings more love into the world.

It can be easy to argue about which candidates and ballot issues to vote for, but our world has too many arguments and disagreements right now. So that’s why I’m not suggesting WHO or WHAT you vote for, but I am asking you to consider HOW you vote. Please fill your heart and your mind with love and compassion when you think about voting and vote in the way you believe will bring more love and compassion for ALL into our country.

And if we disagree on the issues, hopefully we can agree that every issue can benefit from opening more to that universal healing energy called love.

******* (additional thoughts)

The idea of Voting with Love and Compassion came to me during a meditation. I was distressed at how hard it can be to talk about politics but hopefully we can all talk about love together. Hopefully, we can join together in wanting more love and caring for ourselves, our families, our communities and the natural world,

I invite you to try this idea. When bringing politics up, share, not the person or issues you are voting for but the concept you are endorsing. “I am voting for love and compassion. I hope you also vote for love and compassion.”  When people question this, I explain, “When I think about the elections, I breathe deeply, releasing anxieties and fears and I fill my mind and heart with as much love and compassion as I can. It helps me feel better and it increases the amount of loving energy surrounding the elections.” And if someone says that won’t change the election, I tell them, “It will for me. I feel calmer and more loving towards others. And if some candidates and issues win that I didn’t vote for, but they come in being chosen out of open heartedness, caring, and compassion for all, that brings in more love to the world. So, please, vote with and for love and compassion.”

Please share this blog and ask everyone you know to please vote with love and compassion this November.

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Thank you for reading and sharing this. – Jan Ogren, MFT