When the results came in, my vote, while it counted, didn?t get my choice elected. But as I listened to the election night speeches, first the concession speech and then the acceptance speech, I felt better about it than I had in months. Neither of them delivered a guarantee of hope for the future, but they did deliver a sense of hope.
I suppose the need for resolution and control could be considered human nature. A sense of control brings a sense of balance. Balance is what gets us through the day. We try to balance every aspect of our lives. Our budgets, our time, our meals are all on the ?to balance? lists we all carry around in our mind?s back pocket.
Maybe we should balance out that optimism, too. For our own protection, a little bit of cynicism may be a good thing. It would be simpler if we only had to worry about ourselves. But there are always others involved. And them, we can?t control. Not in the ways we?d like to.
Instead you dictate one thing and one thing only. Yourself. You can give someone what you think they need?like your vote?but you can?t make that person do what?s right for your situation.
But it doesn?t mean your effort wasn?t worth it. You went beyond a sense of control to actual control by taking action. And sometimes that has to be enough.
