Democracy promotes experiencing the land respectfully. Once J. F. Kennedy urged human kind, “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

My quest for U.S. citizenship is in progress and I am scheduled for my finger-print in two weeks. My husband works hard to cause abrupt reactions out of me because he rarely sees his wife reacting. However my husband succeeded this time. While he was reading a finger-print notice from the United States Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS), he jokingly switched its original date. My jaws dropped with panic. “I am changing my travel arrangement to Orlando. There is no way I am requesting for a reschedule!” My husband laughed and said calmly it is on July 13th not the 3rd! We cherished an accomplished moment together through expressions of our love for each other!

What is next? I am anxiously waiting to receive a letter from the USCIS indicating my citizenship test and interview appointment. I am ready! Regardless of any emotional headaches and heartaches it has been truly a blessing to partake in the American democracy for the last 20.5 years.

Here is a question to ponder. Who are the Americans? Please send me your ideas.  I will incorporate your responses alongside my thoughts in an upcoming post.

I am unusually adaptable – and although I’m a strong-willed person I am very flexible. Perhaps different life experiences and wisdom guided me to acquire the strength of flexibility that is a necessity in leadership. I am a sensible risk taker and an adventuresome person in a way that enhances my leadership appeal to the larger community. I welcome new challenges. Because of my risk taking ability I feel that greater opportunities knock on my door. As Pablo Picasso said, “I am always doing things I can’t do, that’s how I get to do them.”

I approach conflict as an opportunity for change and growth. Our weaknesses can turn into strengths. Relative to my leadership abilities, I am fully aware of myself. I feel that this is a practical foundation for making appropriate adaptations in dealing with others. However, I can be overly critical of myself. I treat others with dignity and respect regardless of power or position and foster sound decision-making processes based upon the task at hand. My daily practices are; emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-management, and mindfulness. These skills are the fruit of more than 30 years of daily meditation. So far as I know, these have been the practices of my parents, their parents, etc… Such a gift is not easily surrendered.

I realized that one of the best skills I can seek to acquire is the ability to communicate new understandings to people by methods proper to their needs and level of engagement. Allow me to share an example which illustrates this realization. The Littleton Immigration Integration Initiative (LI3) is an organization that tries to discover and develop immigrant leaders in Colorado –I am a steering committee member. Recently we hosted a resource fair to celebrate the success of immigrants and their community partners. The fair was remarkably well received because it emphasized this community focus. My American experience has taught me that regardless of homogeneity or a mixture of color, faith or ethnicity it is the people themselves which produce a community; leaders belong to people and leading by example fosters growth. This resource fair connected many dots of distance in an extended family dynamic by bringing immigrants and businesses together. In this way the value of diversity is recognized as leadership.

What is democracy?

The simple answer is; the free and equal right to participate in the decision making process.

When I left Nepal 20 years ago I was still too young to vote there. Since then I have been residing in the United States and became a permanent resident 4.5 years ago. According to the immigration and naturalization law now I am eligible to apply for the U.S. citizenship. Indeed! I applied last Tuesday!

It’s an irony; I have never elected the president of a country or a government official in my life. I firmly believe in democracy and understand that voting is a critical element of the democratic process. Therefore I am anxiously waiting for that incredible moment until I take an oath of my citizenship so I can fully experience the power of democracy. Unfortunately I don’t know how it feels to share in the right of voting at this time.

As I prepare for my citizenship test I will post my experiences here; please share this journey with me. I encourage you to comment about your memory of the first time you voted.