It’s 10:00 p.m. Pacific standard time on election eve, and it looks like we are in for a long four years ahead. I suggest we all take a deep breath and remember our true power does not stem from the White House or the Congress, whoever is elected. True power and freedom exists within each one of us. That is the gentle reminder I offer to everyone who visits me at CommuniChi, my acupuncture clinic, to my family and friends, and to those I meet on the street or in the social media sphere. It is the prayer I place on the tip of every acupuncture needle.
Now more than ever, each one of us needs to touch that place of inner strength, serenity and peace – individually and collectively. We will need it in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. So if you have a meditation practice, please go to your cushion now and tune into cosmic love and awareness of the interdependence of all life. If you don’t have a meditation practice, get one. I can teach you. It’s pretty simple really. All you have to do is…..
B R E A T H E.
“We are the one’s we have been waiting for”, and if we all have to wait a little bit longer, be patient and do not lose hope, the wait will be worth it if we don’t give up. My spiritual teacher once remarked to me with a smile as wide as the sun, “it doesn’t matter how long it takes to reach enlightenment, what matters if that you are heading in that direction.” The darkest hour is right before the dawn.
In the short term, there will be sobering consequences to a Trump presidency, and for marginalized groups on Trump’s hate list, the hammer may fall hard. If you care about social justice, now is not the time to be idle. We must redouble our efforts. However, it is difficult to say exactly what will happen tomorrow, next year, or at any time in the future. I do not dwell in political prognostication or fortune telling because quite simply, each one of us creates the future right now. I am surprised, but not disillusioned by President Trump.
That’s the first time I’ve used his name in many months, but it’s time to wake up and acknowledge that however misinformed, misogynistic, xenophobic and racist we might think the white, male, rural electorate is, these people voted in what they perceived to be their best interests. Why? We can blog and talk all we want about how the cosmos is out of balance and how terrible this moment is (I still see only opportunities), but what can we do to create mutual understanding and dialogue with those we are quick to judge? Can we see others and imagine what is like to grow up in their shoes, without being condescending or arrogant, but accepting them as human beings with flaws, not permanently afflicted with ignorance and provincial attitudes, but temporarily living under the curse of a dark spell? I certainly know that I have my internal poisons which I must continue to work on removing.
The election is simply a reflection of what has been happening in the United States and the world, leading up to this moment. The future is what we make of it, and because I am only one person among billions on this planet, I put 99% of my focus on ensuring that my thoughts and actions are aligned with justice, truth, healing and empowerment. That’s all I really have control over. Trying to understand the actions of others based on the gross over-generalizations and stereotypes we hear in the media only leads to division, fear, and anxiety.
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Last weekend, I participate in a tee-pee build here in Seattle, working with others to construct components for portable low cost shelters capable of keeping indigenous water protects and their allies warm at #StandingRock, North Dakota, while the battle to save Mother Earth continues on so many fronts. There was joy and love felt in abundance. Now is the time to join with others in community, to not give up our deepest hopes and dreams but to live them and share them. There is too much at stake to wallow in self-centered defeatism.
And if Hillary pulls it out at the proverbial 11 o’clock hour, I would say the very same thing, but I’m going to bed now so that whatever the outcome, I’ll be well rested in order to continue the work.
Thank you for your kind posting, Jordon. May Trump feel so much positive vibes directed at him that his devils are kept at bay until he leaves office.
Hopeful Cherry