To Answer For Myself

Albert Einstein once said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." And, that got me thinking about a boss I once had who was able to make the most complex marketing data so easily understood. It was a gift.

Being good with words is a gift I have, but I understand that it can also take me down the unintended Road of Verbosity. Not good. I am now going to practice my willingness to put things simply because this question pertains to me. At the end of this, please let me know if I did an adequate job.

I am asked a lot, "How can you, A Reiki Master, a pagan, lean so far toward conservatism and so far from liberal thinking?" It seems that being philosophically open and into alternative therapies and healing means one must embrace the liberal mind-set. A true misconception.

I am simply not liberal enough to view those around me as being too disadvantaged, unable, or unwilling to reach for more and better. Or, see the world as a mean and stingy place where people who wish to change their circumstances can't work like crazy to change them. I'm not willing to step into a role of knowing better than you do about what is best for you.

I am not so liberal as to think that vast parts of the world or population need to be cared for because they are incapable of doing so for themselves. I'm not liberal enough to think of those with socio/economic hurtles to leap can't get over them unless we remove them. Or that I should force my definition of a better life onto your world view.

I'm not liberal enough to think that life should be fair. And that all of us should have the exact same measure. I'm not liberal enough to think that we should allow our government to mandate that those who have more must give to those who have less. I'm not liberal enough to think I know the rightness of things and that it's my job to make sure I Mama Manage the lives of others.

I am liberal in my view of the fact that there will never be enough love in the world and that all of us should have the right to find love where it is for us. In whatever form it takes, in whatever person we recognize it. I believe in sex as a Spirit given gift designed to give pleasure. I believe that all of us should recognize it as a gift and act accordingly.

I think we should all value ourselves enough to understand what we are doing if we decide to withhold from sex or participate in it. And, that sex is sacred just as we are sacred. Sex is natural and good but, it requires that we act responsibly. I am not liberal enough to think that birth control should be a government mandate paid for by tax payers. If I want the right to chose for myself, my sexual path, orientation and participation, I must also shoulder the responsibility of the healthcare that goes along with that choice.

I am liberal enough to understand that all are my brothers and sisters and that I have the responsibility to help where I can; assist when asked; nurture and mentor; support growth and willingness; care about those who are less fortunate. Do what I can to be of value and service.

I am also conservative enough to understand that all are my brothers and sisters and I have the responsibility to help where I can; assist when asked; nurture and mentor; support growth and willingness; care about those who are less fortunate. Do what I can to be of value and service.

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you- you did read the same dictates twice. Why? Because these things that liberal folk think of as their defining qualities, are exactly same for those who view themselves as conservative!

Liberal folk aren't better people because they think of others and champion the 'less fortunate'! It's not their wheel house. They don't own this. Conservative people feel the same way. And, that's why I can be a Reiki Master and a pagan in my spiritual orientation and still be conservative.

The difference? I'm okay with the notion that life isn't fair; I don't think it's supposed to be. I think our view of life being unfair can very often be the divine spark or the catalyst to reach for more or develop more, or search for more, or just begin to value ourselves more to believe we should expect better and get better! The first step in beginning a journey toward something!

As a conservative, I am not at war with money. I don't think of it as evil. I respect it for what it is- simply a physical manifestation of energy exchanged. And so, I like money. I want it; to share it and use it; make it; save it; and make it work for me.

As a Reiki practitioner, I understand that in order to become healthy and well, an individual must have a sense of their own power and ability. They can't be passive; they must participate. To be part of a healing process, both the practitioner and the patient must be on equal footing. It's a partnership; it's an eye-to-eye experience. One is not more-than, while the other is less-than.

In order to get a sense of one's personal power and begin feeling empowered to stretch to their full potential, one has to invest in themselves and the process. For most of us, when it comes to services, it's the exchange of money that we rely on.

But, as a Reiki practitioner, I clearly recognize that money is not the only way to do this. If I have a client who doesn't have the cash for their session, I ask, "What is it that you can exchange? What do you have that you are willing to invest for our time and energy?" And, anything that is agreed on starts the process of investing in Self and being an equal.

As a conservative, I am looking for that glorious moment on the teeter-totter of life, when you and I are in perfect balance with each other...that scant second when we look each other in the eyes, and hold things in that remarkable sense of being in equal relationship with each other. The moment is gone too soon as the Earth's gravitational pull sends me downward while you lift up, and then the process is reversed. But for one glorious second we experienced complete balance.

As a Conservative, I want all of us succeed. I want to see all of us realize our potential. I want all of us to reach for satisfaction. Sorry to say Liberals, you do not get the moral high ground on this one.

The difference between a Liberal and Conservative? Being conservative, I understand that it's not my job to define success for you. I understand that I cannot want better for an individual than they want for themselves. AND, I respect the learning path of each individual and the choices they make to either stretch past adversity, or accept it as their due. Being conservative, I hold constant hope that those with less will start their journey toward more, but it's not my job to do the heavy lifting for them.

We are all here to learn. Some of us learn through hardship and despite it. And some of us learn by staying stuck in the middle of it. I can only speak for what I know of my life and how I view things. I can only share my views if you ask me and I can walk the road with you for awhile, but I won't become the road for you to trod.

So yes, I am pagan and I am a Reiki Master and I am gifted and blessed and willing to share those with all. And, happily, there are many out there who feel as I do. I'm not singular in being a conservative and being compassionate. These states are not mutually exclusive.

Did I state this simply enough?

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Is Blessed & Conservative