Breathe. Cry. Laugh. Rinse. Repeat.
I'm writing this post on Wednesday morning Nov 6 long after reading about the election results from the previous night and early morning.
First, let's back up to the night of Nov 5. Ashara and I stayed away from all news sources and social media. Instead we watched an episode of The Lincoln Lawyer with Manuel Garcia-Rulfo playing Mickey Haller who is a defense lawyer based in Los Angeles. Really good writing, acting, and producing! Next we watched an episode of Monk played by Tony Shalhoub, a former San Francisco police detective who helps his former partner and police captain in each episode. It's quirky, funny, and has the right amount of pathos to keep us engaged with the show.
We basically didn't want to know what was happening with THE ELECTION. We were already feeling stressed, our own, and from half the population of the world.
It ain't easy being an EMPATH!
I avoided looking at email before meditating this morning (Nov 6) even though intuitively I knew who won. Hell, we all saw the writing on the proverbial wall, right?
Sooooo, after meditation practice I walked into my office, opened my laptop, and saw a dozen emails from The New York Times in sequence that began overnight:
Breaking News: Trump wins North Carolina, a critical battleground state for Republicans
Breaking news: Trump wins Georgia, re-establishing Republicans’ dominance there
Breaking news: Trump on verge of victory after winning Pennsylvania
Breaking news: Trump wins sweeping election victory
And the last email which was like a sucker punch to the gut that knocks the wind out of you:
The Morning: President Trump
Then I closed my laptop, shook my head in despair and went with Ashara to move our horses out of the blowing snow and into the barn. I felt like Nanook of the North trudging across the tundra with snow drifts leading up to the door.
After moving and feeding the horses (thank goodness we put their winter weather coats on last night) we came back up to the house where I allowed my feelings of grief to wash over me, FULLY PRESENT IN THE MOMENT. I even said to Ashara that I felt lament over the election results.
Yeah, I felt all the feelings in every cell of this body and then literally blew it all out like a, well I don't know what. It was too big for words.
While I worked through the day I was reminded of an article I read in Lion's Roar titled "Coping with Political Grief" which was written Nov 4, a couple of days ago. They knew!
I'm borrowing this paragraph to share with you:
Loss is part of democracy, just as grief is part of life. The bitter truth is that in democratic societies we take it in turns to lose and win. But boy, does it hurt when our political hopes are dashed. How can we sit in peace as cherished values and rights are threatened by a swing in the polls?
Indeed, I returned to that paragraph and the full article several times throughout the day. As a Buddhist practitioner for more than 30 years, even when I strayed from my practice for a decade, I return to the principles as my refuge from this weary world.
Another source of refuge comes from one of my mentors Alan Seale, who is an excellent writer and coach. I've written about him before because I find tons of value in his writings. In his latest post he offered this quote that helped him following the election:
The longest journey is the journey inward.
Dag Hammarskjold, from Markings: Spiritual Poems and Meditations
Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate, and second Secretary-General of the United Nations.
TRUTH!
When we can set aside our human trappings if even for a few moments to sit and breathe in / breathe out, our bodies, minds, egos, all of it can settle down and find it easier to cope with pretty much anything. That's the inner journey!
So, today I intentionally breathed in deeply and breathed out fully. A small miracle when I was able to remember that no matter what transpires in the next few minutes, days, months, years, and decades - all of this is impermanent.
Everything changes.
That's a guarantee my friends.
I pray that all of us remain calm, cool, and collected in the coming administration. Let's hold the future president and ourselves accountable to being good Americans. I'll be grateful with that.
And, remember, it's good to Breathe. Cry. Laugh. Rinse. Repeat (often).
Oh, one more thing: have great compassion for everyone, including yourself.
Thanks for the read.
Got a comment or other suggestions for coping? Love to read them!
Conceived with an open heart. AI can't touch this.
