Finding Our Way.

Since November 8th I’ve been a little lost. 

We’re all a product of how we were raised (though I do believe we can become a new product at any time) and my mother was fiercely liberal. I remember her warnings on what would happen if the Republican party somehow found control of all three branches of government… I lost my mother when I was very young, but her doomsday predictions have stayed with me my entire life.

Fast forward to now, and here we are, smack in the middle of her dystopian nightmare.

I’m not going to lie. I have no interest in pretending I’m neutral about any of this. Though I wrote a book called The Fascinated Observer, I admit I’m watching this more in horror than fascination right now. I’m not going to worry about keeping politics out of my professional life, because right now I don’t have the luxury of compartmentalizing. Every single one of my clients is currently in a mixed state of shock, fear and horror over the legislative blight spreading across the country.

What I’m not going to do is list my reasons for my fear. Too much of that going around. You know why I’m scared shitless because you’re feeling it too. And I also have no intention of giving in to that fear. It’s not going to win. There is no scenario where hatred wins in this country, in this world. It’s bubbled under the surface for too long. It’s been written into our policy, and hidden in our discrimination. There’s a cure for all of this and it’s called the human heart.

We’ve been handed the greatest gift we could have asked for. Somebody turned off the anesthesia machine. America is awake now. Yes, we’re still stunned, blinking, trying to shake off the confusion. But as basic rights and sacred institutions are stripped away in front of us, as National Parks are sold off to the highest bidder and censorship rolls in like Panzers across the land, more and more people are standing up straighter and clenching their hands into sledgehammer fists. As Mother Nature’s health– and by default ours– is assaulted with each stroke of a pen more and more people say, No.

This is not what we choose.

So how do we stay sane, when everyday it seems there’s a race to reach the finish line of “Most Deplorable Country” and Trump’s people are running hard.

We look deep inside of us and we find our way. We take one step forward based on what feels right for us individually. We might not know how to do this, we might not have any idea where to begin, but our instincts will lead the way if we can get quiet enough to listen.

Who do you want to be?

For me, it starts with an intention.

My intention is to feel pride in how I’m showing up in this world. I want to look in the mirror and say, “You’re killing it” every single day. For me that means loving the darkness out of the world. It means unleashing the full force of my heart and my soul into the abyss. It means becoming that laser, so powerful it can slice through iron, because there’s nothing so potent as an intense beam of coherent Light. It means reaching my hand into the blackness to offer real, physical assistance to those in need.

For me it’s a measured combination of Mind/Body/Spirit. 

Mind= staying informed. Learning more about the issues I’m standing for. Becoming more empathic by trying my hardest to understand what it must feel like to fear deportation or to have my sovereign rights as an indigenous American trampled on once again or what it must feel like to have brown or black skin in this country. What must it feel like to wear a hijab? Reading books from a POC point of view, listening to podcasts produced and directed by minorities, starting somewhere, anywhere.

Body= staying active. Being the change I want to see. Not standing around waiting for a savior, but becoming that savior with millions of other Americans also becoming that savior. This means joining face-to-face groups, volunteering, loving people, encouraging people, supporting people who are also killing it every day with love and heart and soul. It also means listening to my body and completely unplugging when I need to, stepping away from all of it, resting for a few days. We’re playing the long game here, we need to act like it and be smart.

Spirit= staying connected. Taking care of myself. Unplugging every few days. Keeping one foot on earth and one foot in the heavens. It’s about seeing the big picture. We may sustain a lot of injuries in the first one hundred days of this presidency. We’re going to keep losing, a lot. But the more I see what we’re capable of, how so many are banding together in spirit and fortitude and love, I believe we’re transforming this ugly thing into something beautiful.

I believe that was the whole point.

We had to have somebody be the catalyst, to unleash the power of the human spirit. I’ve seen that power all across America, igniting, a magnificent flame. We’re not going to allow civil rights to fall, we’re not going to allow Mother Nature to endure more crippling blows, we’re going to be there for each other.

I believe in me. I believe in you. And I believe Love will prevail.