Why I Don't Vote

My favorite anime is Vinland Saga. I watched it with my daughter over the span of a year. In the last episode of the last season Thorfinn, the protagonist, takes a 100 punches without fighting back to get audience with King Canute of the Danes. He explains he didn’t fight because he doesn’t know the soldiers, and says he has no enemies. I have used this line on my Linkedin profile, because it reminds me to see the world as a place where I have no enemies. The word “enemy” is loaded, and creates a reason inside of us to understand why someone would be an enemy. I don’t want to look for a reason that anyone is my enemy.

Politics does this to us if we are not vigilant. As I practice a year of relinquishing my fears, I find engaging in political discourse and even voting as something to “fast” from. I am not interested in politics because there seems a great measure of fear energy that surrounds the topics. All one has to do is bring up words and names and it can illicit a reaction deep in our psyche if we have been exposed to the topic long enough. I do not vote and will not vote. I don’t fear your opinion of my choice and I don’t fear the outcome of either party winning or losing. I don’t fear our democracy crumbling or a new system coming. What is going to happen next is evolution and change that no one can stop. not a single person or vote. I do not fear the change, no matter what form it takes.

Some may call this apathy, but I feel it is the opposite. I care so much about my serenity and that of my community, that I make this choice not to vote with much deliberation and thought. I not only don’t vote, I actually try to have no feelings as two who wins the game or election. A new day will come and a new person will be in charge or a new team the world champion or a new boss in the office or a new billionaire launching rockets to space. This is evolution and you get to choose if it causes stress in your life or if the outcome is neutral or even positive, no matter the outcome.

I believe that in this election, both human beings have intent and reason to do the job well and serve how they see best. There is a situation where the majority of my networth, which is mostly in Bitcoin, could be temporary affected by a candidate winning. Does not change my “no vote” creed. Honestly, we are such a blessed country, that I fear nothing can be done by either side in charge. I don’t fear other countries coming to take over, I don’t fear the end of the world scenarios people try to use as a reason to back a candidate. I don’t fear the end of the world. Fire and floods could rush around me and sweep up my family and I am ready to react with grace in the face of it all. 100 punches to the face and I will not give into fear or hate, that is my goal.

I have no enemies.

Scott X

Shaman of Phi and the Unholy Author of the Daily 4:20 News Report.

Listen to the music of Vinland Saga and think about what I said today and maybe ponder deeply on what you fear about the world and see if you can convert that fear into a neutral state or even love. Do you hate Trump? practice loving him for a minute. Do you hate Harris? Practice loving her for a minute. Your mind is the only thing that you know to be real, nothing else being said is stronger than your own mind and how you let messages in.