Politically Correct

I had an interesting experience this week which made me think about a few things that I thought might be helpful to others to ponder on.
An old aquaintance and I had "friended up" in the past year on Facebook.  We were all newly discovering FB and finding people we had lost touch with over the years.  She was someone I had some mixed feelings about from our teen years but since we are now in our 50s I figured it would be ineteresting to catch up.
We did a little bit of writing back and forth but nothing much seemed to come of it.  She did not have a presence on FB as far as I knew since I never saw her posting anything nor did I ever see her responding to anyone elses posts.
This week I got a very respectful email from her saying she was going to "defriend" (yes it is a new word in the dictionary this year) off of FB because she was having trouble with my posts about my workouts.  Her reasons were these:  #1 It was hard for her to read about my workouts while people are suffering in Haiti, #2 she has her own issues with weight and #3 she works with women who have eating disorders and thinks all of the press and focus on looking good are bad messages to be giving women.
She said she hoped I wouldn't be offended by this and that we could continue to be friends but that she was going to focus on using FB to fundraise money for Haiti.
This triggered a bit of shame initially which I talked my way out of and then I began to think about the whole issue...facebook....politics....what people think of us based on our actions vs who we believe ourselves to be.
If we have healthy boundaries we know that people can make up things about us all the time but it doesn't mean it's true.
In the year I have been doing the extreme workouts with P90X and Turbo Jam I have not really lost weight.  There are times that this bothers me but mostly I am so proud of myself that I have the stamina to keep going and am able to tone up and get healthy in so many ways that I don't even really focus on the weight anymore.  I feel good about myself.
When I talk to people about the products I am responding to their concerns about a number of issues:  weight, heart health, stamina, and especially emotional health.  People are feeling depressed and anxious and are having a hard time getting motivated to do anything to get themselves out of it.  Research has shown that exercise plays a big part in helping people overcome anxiety and depression.  Most people I know are not really hoping to end up looking like Barbie.  They want to feel good about themselves, to be proud of their bodies and feel comfortable in their own skin.  We don't have to look like Barbies to get there.  Beachbody provides a sense of community that has helped me stay connected and motivated to keep on pushing play.
When I share a workout on FB I do so because I am proud that I have been able to workout at the level I am.  And if sharing that helps someone else get excited about it, that would make me proud too. 
I work hard in my job and put in a lot of hours and when I come home and push myself to work out hard I feel good to be me.  I have felt more at peace, more relaxed and happy since I've been working hard at it.
I hope I am not giving women the idea that they have to be thin to be happy.  I sure don't believe it myself so I hope that isn't the story people make up about me.
The next issue here that I find so interesting is politics.  I think  people can be very competitive and judgemental about their political beliefs and I have found that increasingly difficult to stomach.
My response to this aquaintance was that I believe I can be a good person, act responsibly in my politics and relationships and still take care of me.  I do not believe I have to submerge myself in reading everything or give all my money away or spend every waking hour working on a political issue in order to call myself a good political activist.
I believe that most horrible things happen in the world out of greed and because people have been able to view other people, animals, countries etc as subhuman and less than themselves.  I don't believe I can go out and effect change all by myself on these global issues and so I focus on what I can do.
In my personal ife I have made a commitment to be non-violent.  That means I am committed to not being verbally violent to others and that I do not be violent inside my head to myself either.  I work hard to say what I need to say to others while taking responsibility for my own interpretations of events and that I MAKE MYSELF have the feelings I have.  I try to take the words "but" and "make me" out of my vocabulary.
I am not perfect and every time I work at it I see this as a POLITICAL ACT.
In my work with people I am helping them figure out their relationships and lives and feelings about themselves hoping to help them to be kinder to themselves and others.  To accept themselves and be the best person they want to be.
We stumble and bumble and sometimes we fall and I see all of this as a POLITICAL ACT.
When I talk to a bunch of teenagers (as I did this morning) about how they feel about not being able to talk to their parents or about being bullied at school and I help them brainstorm options and support them to keep trying to stand up for themelves, I see it as a POLITICAL ACT.
When I make a call and talk to someone in customer service who is either rude or not helpful I could choose to get grandiose and be mean to them, to put them down and swear but instead I remember they are just another person who is trying to do their job and that they probably have people yelling at them all day (as that is the new phone etiquette).
When driving down the road and someone cuts me off, or doesn't let me merge, or is too busy talking on their cell phone to pay attention and they make mistakes, it would be easy to swear or give the the finger (or, as some do, try to run them off the road). 
Here are some things I say to myself when others get grandiose with me or when I feel like going one-up on someone else:
We were all born naked (and equal).  No one is inherently better or worth more than anyone else.
No one else can define me except me.
We all have to live on the planet together.  We are cohabitants and depend on each other and deserve respect.
That could have been me, or
That could be my parent or grandparent driving and I'd want them to be able to function independently even tho they are slow and making mistakes

All of this I believe to be POLITICAL ACTS.

Sure, I give money and sign petitions.  I post political issues on my FB for anyone who's interested.  I talk to people about what I believe.

But my biggest political act, I believe, is to be the best person I want to be and to help others achieve the best for themselves.

Lastly, I see FB as a fun way to connect and keep in touch with people and let them know what I'm up to.  It can be a fun way to get slaphappy taking dumb quizzes with your old childhood friends.  It can be a way to make people aware of political issues, breaking news.....I like to share jokes and funny or beautiful videos.  What I put on FB is an attempt  to share who I am.
Anyone of us can block or "defriend" anyone at any time.  If anyone decides they don't like who I am, or if they don't like reading my posts....they should feel free to put a block on me or defriend me altogether.  We are all adults and have free will and I'd ahte to think anyone was keeping me as a friend because they were scared of my reaction.

Be the best person you want to be, take care of yourself and commit to nonviolence and respect in your life.

That's acting POLITICALLY!