Active Citizenship

When I swapped my citizenship from British to Irish I caught a difference in how I was described on my new Passport. Where formerly I was a "subject" of Her Majesty the Queen (as then was), now I was a "Citizen" of the Irish Republic.

That contrast struck me as one of participation, in one you were being instructed to obey, in the other you were being invited to participate.

In the reality of our daily lives I doubt we experience the difference, but at times we are called to stand up, when crisis strikes, or when big decisions are to be made. In my twenty years in Dublin I felt this in the community participation in the numerous referenda, on divorce, same sex marriage, blasphemy, abortion, the rights of the Family, and the Death Penalty. Neighbours knocked on neighbours doors to advocate for change, or for the status quo. What this process invoked in me was pride to be a citizen.

I have drawn a direct line from this insight into my work and life coaching.

I advocate to the young people I coach the need to "turn up" more in their personal and working lives. By this I mean not to just be reactive to what is happening around you, but to make time to consider the framework within which you live. We all live in families, communities, and workplaces, but we are not all alive to what is going on, the rules, the unspoken assumptions, the decisions that are being made around you.

Putting the thinking time into the dynamics of your world creates the a priori knowledge to live within it better.

I see an equilibrium position in which you are an "Active Citizen" in your own life, shaping what happens to you. This is a state of "Awareness". "To the left of that lie two lesser states, one of "Consumerism" where you just accept what happens to you, and further left again, "Oppression", where you don't like what is happening around you or to you, but feel powerless to do anything about it.

To the right of "Active Citizenship" lies "Activism" where you understand and accept the framework of your life but are prepared to make a stand for things you believe in. And to the right of that again lies "Agitation", a kind of 'tear it all down' mode of thinking.

Of course this is a continuum, and ultimately just a framework for thinking about your life. You will move backwards and forwards along that continuum driven by events and mood. You cannot exist in that equilibrious state of Awareness all the time. Sometimes it is good enough just to Consume. But you can mindfully avoid Oppression and Agitation.

If you want to explore this with me further get in touch and we can have a conversation.