BY KEITH WOMMACK – Overdosed on campaign rhetoric? Tired of political advertisements? You’re in luck. Official vote counting is about to begin.
As tired of this long political season as you may be, there are some who are actually sick and tired. The stress over political battles has impacted their health.
It’s good to be an involved citizen, but, nasty politics can cause extremes in thought and unpleasant physical symptoms. It seems the more negative a political campaign gets, the more illness is experienced.
While you should support and vote for candidates you truly feel can best govern, getting caught up in the anxiety and anger of opposing sides won’t help. It will only add to what harms.
I received this email from a friend: “Four years ago we put a couple of political signs in our yard during the presidential campaign with no negative repercussions. About two weeks ago we put up a political sign on our property, and already two of our customers have terminated their service with us because they don’t agree with our political stance. Both sent us angry letters railing against the candidate we were supporting, and we were both shocked and saddened that something like this could actually happen in this day and age. About three days ago I began having symptoms of a cold— and I know it’s about my reaction to all of this.”
Dr. David B. Samadi, in a FoxNews.com health column, recently wrote, “Perhaps the most shocking fact about stress is that it can affect all parts of your body, not just in one area.”
Since your mental state affects your physical body and quality of life, it’s important to garner healthy practices that can lower and erase stress. One such practice, some would describe as also absolutely necessary, is to recognize Spirit as the defining essence of our identity.
If you merely medicate the body to get relief from troublesome symptoms, you haven’t really addressed what produces the symptoms. No one is suggesting that you stop being politically aware and active. Perhaps, being more spiritually aware and active will cause you to be healthier as well as more politically astute.
It is a spiritual sense of life that allows you to express, to some degree, the heart and mind of Jesus, the master healer and teacher. Divine awareness enables you to remain calm in the middle of emergencies or to regain a healthy peace if you’ve lost it.
The Apostle Paul utilized Jesus’ Christian method of healing. The Contemporary English Version of the Bible, in part, translates one of Paul’s letters to the people at Philippi: “Because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.”
After I received my friend’s email, both she and I prayed to recognize she belonged to Christ. In other words, we prayed to deeply understand how she was spiritually made and governed. We cherished the fact that both her thought and body were expressing God’s tranquility and order.
The symptoms of the cold quickly left her and she stopped stressing about her business and the over-the-top political posturing. She found her peace.
Quality of thought is reflected in quality of life. The type of thoughts you think either invite you to be afraid or they enable you to banish fear. Since fear is a root cause of the stress that leads to sickness, it is imperative that you wisely begin to address it.
Are you fearing another’s hate or honoring the magnitude of an ever-present divine Love? Have you been caught up in the excitement of a candidate rising or dropping in the polls, or have you been confident that there is a wisdom greater than your own that guides the affairs of men and nations?
Since you are more than meets the eye, you can express a mental strength that conquers fear and reduces stress. This is the best way, I know, to relieve and refresh a tired mind and sick body.
My friend later mentioned to me, “My husband exchanged a few more emails with one of the customers who dropped us. In the last one, my husband told the customer there were no hard feelings, and wished him a happy holiday season. The customer’s tone changed, and he agreed they should put away their political differences.”
My friend continued, “This same customer’s house had been for sale for months and had not yet sold. That same day he told my husband that the house had just sold and that he would give the new owners our business card if they needed our services. The next day the new owner called us, and now we have the job back again! Pretty cool, huh? Love’s power works, no matter who’s party you belong to!”
Again, no one is suggesting that you stop being politically aware and active. Perhaps, being more spiritually aware and active will cause you to be healthier as well as more politically astute.
– Keith Wommack is a Syndicated Columnist, Christian Science practitioner and teacher, husband, and step-dad. He has been described as a spiritual spur (since every horse needs a little nudge now and then). Keith’s columns originate at: KeithWommack.com