Freedom Friday: The Definition of Insanity

The Definition of Insanity

Welcome and welcome back! It's another amazing day in paradise. Thank you so much for being here. 

I need to admit, this is not the post I had planned. It's not even in the timeframe I had planned for. I have 3 or 4 posts that are in my drafts, waiting to be finished so they can be posted. But after the way this week has played out and all the information my brain has been processing, it is time for this post. 

As I have slowly been moving forward to becoming the next mayor of Raleigh and having been inundated with so much information, yesterday God said "you need to do a post called "The Definition of Insanity'". I know for sure that one of the reasons is because this election season is soooooooo critical.

Have you ever heard the "definition of insanity"? It's not what you will find when you look in the dictionary. It's a saying I've heard repeated for decades. If you don't know it, the saying goes, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result." The validity of this quote is questionable in many spheres, but it's applicable in the way I'm applying it today. 

The main thing I've learned over the last two years, as I've been engaged with the government on several levels, is we're living with the decisions leaders made years ago. That's because working with the government is a VERY slow and tedious process, especially here in Raleigh. NOTHING is done in a timeframe that meets an immediate need. 

So the people who are being elected now... are actually making decisions that will affect our children 8 to 10 to 12 or more years down the line. That means if we want a different country, state, county or municipality for the children, we need to elect people NOW who reflect our values to create it. 

I know the reason why I'm running is because I want to make sure Wisdom has all the opportunities to grow up and be the man God is designing him to be. So I'm running on values that are more important to him than me. That means he needs a healthy planet to live on. He needs good food to eat to grow up and be smart, healthy and strong. He needs to be able to easily access the sun so he can make sure he has enough vitamin D.

He needs an education that will cause him to flourish in the ways he is interested in while also introducing him to things that might challenge him and/or change his mind. He needs a safe community to live in. He needs safe parks and places to run and play. 

He needs to be able to afford a place to live, not be siloed into a certain area of town just because. He needs to know he can choose any profession because he saw his mom rise from financial poverty to mayor. And... much, much more...! Let's face it. That's just the beginning of the list.

Most importantly though he needs to be in places that will encourage him to live in a state of rest and digest (parasympathetic activation) versus fight, flight, freeze or please (sympathetic activation). 

If you know Wisdom, he will stand his ground (fight) and potentially meltdown when confronted with oppressive situations. He will handle his business because he doesn't like to tell on people. He once told me he didn't like the feeling when someone told on him so he won't do it. He will take care of whatever is going on himself. I respect that.

It would be more helpful if he was in spaces where other people (children and adults) were taught how to be respectful instead of bossy. And other people (children and adults) knew how to recognize when their own nervous systems were getting unregulated (or had arrived). And if other people (children and adults) knew what to do to return their nervous systems to a state of regulation. And... And... And...! 

That's not going to happen when a country, state, county or city is being ruled by people who are governing out of their sympathetic nervous systems. That's why it's so important for me to run on the platform that I'm leading with compassion and neuroscience. Both compassion and neuroscience understand there's a need to be met. 

Neuroscience says "find the REAL need, discover the root cause, there's more to this than what we're seeing." 

Compassion says, "meet the need, alleviate the suffering, extend the mercy that is needed (not the mercy we're going to give)!"

Now is the time to determine whether the next 2-4 years will be run by people who will be dead or elderly by the time their decisions will be fully executed and don't reflect the values of the current and rising generations. Or if the next leaders are mindful of who they are making decisions for: an incredibly diverse demographic of ages, colors and experiences. 

Now is the time to determine if we want to keep having people shun the democratic process because it's such a vile and nasty experience (I know I was) or if we want to elect leaders who can be cordial and respectful and kind to one another regardless of what they look like, where they are from, how much money they make or who they support.

Now is the time to figure out whether you want the same old status quo or if you want to create a world that welcomes you just as you are, no matter who you are.

Now is the time to determine whether you want leaders who will make decisions in a state of rest and digest or in a state of fight, flight, freeze or please. The biggest challenge I see with this one is people don't recognize a genuine state of rest and digest or one of the others when it's an imposter. For instance, when I hear Donald Trump speak, I instantly recognize sympathetic activation! All. The. Time!

You can be in a state of please and it look like rest and digest. You can be in a state of fight and it look like rest and digest. You can be in a state of freeze and it look like rest and digest. You can be in a state of flight and it look like rest and digest. Each state of activation looks different for each person. 

In my opinion, genuine rest and digest is always accompanied by compassion. Compassion isn't fixing the situation. By definition a key element of compassion is "a strong desire to alleviate the suffering". That doesn't meant it can be done immediately but at least the idea is there. 

To me that means when leaders are without compassion they are not leading from a place of rest and digest. And you know what else that means? They have needs that aren't being met so they can't meet the needs of those they serve. 

That's why understanding basic neuroscience (sympathetic vs parasympathetic activation) is so critical. 

That's why this election season is so critical. 

And that's why I'm going to be the next mayor of Raleigh. 

I'm not living with "the definition of insanity". My plans look nothing like what anyone else is doing. I'm not talking about it. I'm being about it. And right now what I'll be doing is being done in the dark until it's time to come to light. Because when it comes to light it's going to be blinding. 

People aren't going to know what hit them. What's going to be incredible about that light is it's going to be a warm, welcoming light. It's going to be so inviting that people are going to be so attracted to it because they've been waiting for it but didn't know it. 

It's going to be like but like walking into the sun without the heat. It's going to be like truly "walking on sunshine". But the Love they feel will be towards themselves and towards others. There's even a chance they'll feel Love towards a Higher Power they didn't feel before, whether it's new or renewed. 

So I'm grateful for my journey. I have the most incredible life. I am grateful for a regulated nervous system. I'm grateful for who I've been, who I am and who I am always in a state of becoming. I hope you feel the same way about yourself. And if you don't, I hope you'll keep walking with me. We're heading into the light of our best lives. 

Thank you again for being here. Thank you in advance for returning. Continued success. Enjoy the amazing day you're creating. Peace...