Part One
I am not one to discuss politics often or freely and I’ve no intention to do so here. However, I feel an inherent responsibility to express how I am feeling in light of Tuesdays election. I am fraught with emotion that oscillates by the minutes and hours through sadness, anger, shock, disappointment, fear, anxiety and some I cannot actually describe. I have spent much time leaning away from and then leaning back into each of these sensations, not denying any of them, allowing room for them all. And while they will continue to swirl in me, they have already softened and lost some of their grip on my heart. Space has opened up around my heart, my mind, my body. It has made room for Love to move back in, for compassion to take its seat, and for the understanding that the greatest illusion we are currently facing, is the one that we are separate.
We. Are. Not. Separate. We are all connected. Biologically, chemically, atomically. If one suffers, we all suffer. And We. Are. All. Suffering. Not as Americans. Not as Republicans. Or Democrats. Not as Black, White, Hispanic, Poor, Rich, Gay, Straight, rural, metropolitan or otherwise, but as Humans. As Humans. And until we start to see eachother as such, we will continue to create a greater divide. We will continue to weave and pull the dark cloth of “Us & Them” over our eyes, over our fears, over our lies, and eventually over the bodies of our brothers and sisters on this planet.
I implore you to take a stand against the proliferation of fear and hate, Us and Them, and get to know your fellow humans. Particularly the ones who did not vote the way you did, regardless of what way that was. Get to know WHY they voted (or didnt vote) the way they did. And I dont mean the nitpicking of policy or personality. Ask the questions, from a place of true love and curiosity, that draw out the DEEPER reasons……the NEEDS your fellow humans have that they feel aren’t being met and that they hoped their candidate would help them to meet.
And then recognize the common thread of fundamental human needs between you both and pull it, draw it out. Weave with it a new cloth of understanding, compassion, and love so that we might wrap eachothers shoulders in this cloth to keep us warm through dark and cold times. Learn how we can help eachother get our fundamental needs met together so that perhaps one day, we never are forced again to make desperate decisions……….Our Fundamental needs……Safety, Security, Trust, Honesty, Acceptance, Hope, Love, & Connection.
We ALL need these. We are NOT separate. And we are NOT alone.
Part Two
Nothing is simple. There are many moving parts. My words here are by no means THE answer to everything nor do I propose them to be. But I believe strongly in changing the way the WORLD, not just this country, has been doing things because its clearly not working. And that starts with each individual making a change.
Caveat. By the pure definition, yes, this is a pacifist view. And I stand by that. However, by no means do I think one should not be angry, regardless of who you voted (or did not) for. On the contrary, be very angry. Feel that anger in every part of your body, every cell. Allow it to be present and then transmute it into the energy needed (and there may be alot needed) to stand up for those brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, who stand to be further oppressed. Black, Mexican, Women, LGBTQ. Transform your anger into a positive force to uphold the rights that have been fought so hard to gain. Convert your fear into power to stand by your fellow humans and support THEIR HUMAN rights to freedom, safety, security, Love, & Hope. Let the fear and anger be the fuel you feed the fire, that shines the light into the darkness so that we might see whats going on there, so that by revealing it, it might lose its power. Make room for that anger to transform into strength of heart, solidarity in your values, and firm roots in compassion and love.
Do not deny your anger. It all has a place here. To deny it, is to deny part of you and that only creates more separation. But do not act FROM it. No just decisions have been made or actions taken that came from Fear, Hate or Anger. That energy must be processed into something bigger. If we can move from a more expansive place of love, even if it is fueled from anger, maybe, just maybe we can begin to change the world.
Remember, we are all immigrants here.