P.G. Smith Author

These are trying times. Usually, if something is bothering us, we feel better if we do something about it. Maybe we can’t fix it, but we can do something. It’s a good stress reliever, because then you can tell yourself: Ok, you did what you could; now let it go.

Like any habit of positive thinking, this takes time. Your anxious heart may not listen to your rational brain–in fact, it rarely does unless you work on it. You may have to repeat the instructions ten times a day for thirty days. You did what you could. Now let it go.

Over time this does work if you stick with it. It’s like establishing any mental habit–like practicing meditation or teaching yourself to be more calm or less angry. The longer you practice, the stronger the habit becomes. And all you have to do to get the process started in this case is call Congress.

It’s very easy to do and takes very little time, but hardly anyone does it. When was the last time you called your Congressional Representative? Probably never if you are an average citizen. I never did it until two weeks ago. But lately I’ve gotten so worried about all the layoffs, cuts and freezes, rising prices and falling stock market, I felt I should do something. So, I went to a meeting. They talked about calling Congress; how important it is and how easy it is.

Here’s all you have to do. If you know the name of your Representative (or Senator) just type: name.house.gov; for example: Smith.house.gov or (Jones.senate.gov). Their website will pop up and tell you how to email them and what their phone number is. (In the meeting they said phone calls were the most effective, and of course, they are the easiest.)

If you don’t know their names, you can easily google them.

There is also an app: 5 Calls. It’s free at your app store. It’s handy; makes everything easy; lists all the possible issues and offers possible scripts if you don’t know what to say. But you don’t need it. It’s very easy anyway.

I put the numbers of my two Senators and my Representative in my contacts. So now, if I don’t like something I call them and say: I’m Pat Smith from Jeff, IN and I’m concerned about… I especially call my Rep because they all get elected every two years, so maybe she will listen. But they all tally their calls and messages.

Let’s start treating Congress like they work for us, because the do, right? Congress is supposed to work for us; supposed to do what we want. But how are they supposed to do that if we don’t tell them what we want or don’t want? It makes me feel better to do it, and if more of us do it, democracy might work better for all of us. At the very least you can say to yourself: You did what you could. Now let it go.