I?smell an upcoming election in the September air
Thursday September 2 2010
By Kay MacDuffee, Country Roads-more from this author
By the time this issue is published it will be September. This is not to say that summer has ended. Just that school is about to begin – classes, lessons, courses, clubs.
We shift into another gear in September... or those of us who are connected with kids and schools do. Others apparently take vacations, waiting ‘til this month to avoid the summer rush.
Have you noticed how strong feelings are regarding the month of September? There are the groaners – “I don’t want summer to be over, I don’t want summer to be over.”
There are the anticipators – “I can’t wait to get into fall colours and fall clothes.”
And there are the summer bashers – “Thank God for September! Finally I can be cool again.” That’s the one I really don’t get.
Despite our fetishes and fondness, however, as my old Latin teacher warned, “Tempus fugit”, and we must surrender to it. Resistance is not only futile, it’s counter-productive. When we resist the flow of life, we set out roadblocks for ourselves and life becomes arduous. Paddling upstream is hard work.
This major ‘lesson to live by’ applies to everything. What we resist persists.
If there is something in life that we desperately dislike and wish to change, the first step is to accept it, then bless it (no matter how despicable) and then let it go. After that we can work to change it.
Railing against circumstance is pointless. I think it was Mother Teresa who said something like, “I will not fight against war, but if you ask me to work for peace, I will give all that I have in me.”
It may seem a small thing, but indeed it is huge. We turn the negative into a positive, using love instead of fear as our motivation. We say yes to life rather than no.
Case in point may be municipal elections coming up this fall. This September the lawn signs, pamphlets and door-to-door campaigners will soon be upon us.
Do you have an opinion about the community in which you live and raise your family? About how it’s being run? About the leaders in charge? Have you complained about any of the above?
If you answered yes even once, then perhaps it’s time to work for the positive.
Investigate the candidates in your municipal riding. Ask them questions about the issues that concern you. Visit Town of Caledon’s “Filed Nominations for 2010 Municipal Elections” site online to see who is running and contact them. Some of them will have a website; visit it.
Then get involved. Take a lawn sign, or offer to show your support in any number of ways.
Working for what you believe in is so much more satisfying than complaining about its absence.
Teaming up with like-minded individuals and working for a cause can, in fact, deliver some of the most enjoyable and rewarding hours of a lifetime.
There’s a lot at stake here, folks. It’s our Caledon. Let’s make sure it’s moving in the right direction.
Pay attention.This September could get very exciting.