It has been an interesting week in Trump land. Just to sum things up, the president decided to fire the director of the FBI, just as the investigation into his and his administration’s ties to Russia were heating up. This particular scenario hasn’t happened since President Nixon fired Special Investigator Archibald Cox during the Watergate investigation.
The rhetoric and turmoil around the firing of James Comey came from both sides of the political spectrum. Although, both the Democrats and Republicans were upset by the move, there was and has been a lack of true emotional response by both sides since before the election.
As I listened to the interviews, many of our legislators talked about how bad firing Comey looked, and that the timing sounded off or wrong. Their sentiments made for great sound bites, but truly lacked for emotional depth.
As a society, it seems that we have been programmed to see and hear things without actually feeling any of them. Maybe, it’s part of the 24-hour news cycle, that were exposed to the worst of sounds and images from around the world and for sanities sake we have learned to not let them into our bodies.
When we stop feeling, the area between right and wrong starts to become fuzzy. We can be manipulated by the images we see and the things we hear. In fact, so much of what is shown to us (on the news) and said to us (almost any Whitehouse briefing) is done simply to control what we think. We know we should be paying attention and feeling in response to what we’re seeing and hearing, but there is so much conflict and turmoil it’s truly hard to stay centered and feel the truth.
If we put politics aside and just look at the language, I think the problem with seeing and hearing things in place of feeling them, becomes clear.
When I look at something, anything, the visual image remains external. For it to affect me, I have to let it into my body. If it looks pleasing, I can look closer. If it’s disturbing, I can change the channel, shut my eyes, or turn my head. But it doesn’t have an emotional impact until I let it in and deal with the feelings the images create.
Hearing works the same way. I can turn it up, turn it down, or even turn it off. But until I begin Listening, the noise is just noise and doesn’t have the ability to affect me emotionally. I can even respond with my own talking points and not have to feel anything about what is said or heard.
To bring this back to politics, many people are expressing their shock and outrage over the present situation, but nobody is talking about how they feel. How bad the situation makes them feel, or how wrong this Russian mess feels in the body. Because that is the true test. How does it feel in your body?
Try it. Center and take a couple open and flowing breathes. Then let all of this settle into your body.
How does it feel?