Spiritual Practice for Election Season: Bless What You Encounter

In this final stretch of this election season, most of us are being inundated with campaign rhetoric: flyers fill our mailboxes. Text messages plead for money. Emails warn of dire stakes.

It can be as overwhelming as it is triggering. But what if the upcoming election is an opportunity for deepening our spiritual practice?

Here’s my recommendation for blessing and holding sacred the collective process that shapes our nation’s governance.

First, bless the person.

The next time a campaign message arrives, pause to remember that behind every message are human beings, each with hopes, fears, convictions, and opinions about what’s best for our country.

You don’t have to agree. You don’t have to like their message.

Before taking any action, pause and affirm: May we be guided by wisdom rather than fear.

Second, bless the discernment.

Before reacting to a post, deleting a text, or recycling a flyer, take a breath. Then ask, “What’s true? What matters most? What response would serve life?”

Spiritual practice doesn’t replace our responsibility to think carefully, seek the truth, and act on our convictions. It does help us approach that responsibility with greater clarity and compassion.

Affirm: May we see clearly and choose wisely.

Third, bless the flourishing.

It’s natural to hope that “our” candidates win. But beneath our political preferences is a deeper longing: that our families, our communities, our nation, and the world might flourish.

Allow that shared longing to guide your participation.  Alongside your hopes for a particular outcome, hold space for a larger vision of human dignity, greater understanding, and a world in which everyone has the opportunity to thrive. 

May our choices contribute to the flourishing of all.

We may not control the outcome of an election, but we each of has the power to choose what we contribute to it. May we all choose wisely!