From the Editor's Computer
The municipal elections are just around the
corner. I encourage everyone, in
municipalities with elections taking place, to make the time to mark a
ballot. You might as well, because there
are many folks who are being deprived of that opportunity to vote this time
around.
As is often the case during election
campaigns, the hot button is change.
Many candidates run on a platform that they will bring in change, in
whatever form is most important to them, be it in spending, infrastructure,
taxes, etc.
Making changes are really easy. Anyone can make any kind of change. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that
the change is good or right.
To make beneficial quality changes in any
area of life, not just the political arena, requires approaching change with a
totally different mindset. You must want
something more than you don’t want something.
For example:
- You must want peace and harmony more than you don’t want war.
- You must want to be a responsible citizen more than you don’t want to get caught by the police
- You must want health more than you don’t want illness.
- You must want happiness more than you don’t want sadness.
- You must want growth more than you don’t want the status quo.
Now the two parts of each statement above
may seem like they are saying the same thing, but they aren’t. There is a world of difference between the
two phrases.
When you come at change from the mindset of
“I don’t want...so I will get rid of/change…” you are fighting a losing
battle. You are resisting the situation,
and the cliché “What you resist, persists,” is all too true. Changes may be made but they won’t last, or will
bring about unexpected and detrimental results.
On the other hand, if you come at the change
from a mindset of “I want...what do I need to do to achieve that?” You aren’t resisting anything. You are looking to enhance whatever situation
you are in.
Beth
To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.
