Some Love on a Rough Day

On this morning after election day, many of my friends are feeling a sense of despondency. This election cycle certainly did not turn out the way they hoped. I’m there with you. I hoped a Trump presidency wouldn’t actually happen, but it has. I’d like to offer a few pieces of information, a few perspectives, in hope of alleviating some of the fear.

How Did This Happen – A Slightly Different Perspective

First off, I’d like to offer an insight about why this happened. In 2004, I learned a valuable lesson. I was heavily anti-Bush. I was active in anti-war protests. I had a bumper sticker on my car which read “Anyone but Bush 2004.” Despite so many people being against Bush and his wars, he still won reelection. Later, I discovered why.

There is a spiritual/psychological principle which has been expressed in many ways throughout time – that which we resist, persists. Put another way, anything we put our energy and passion towards grows in strength. Even the things we don’t want. The more energy and focus we put on what we don’t want, the stronger it becomes. This is true both on a personal and community level.

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We create change on the inside and the outside by focusing on what we do want. There is great power within each of us and when we start working towards creating the world we want to see instead of preventing a world we don’t want to see, we gain true strength.

An Interesting Book

Back in ’02 or ’03, my friend Paul gave me a book called “The Fourth Turning” by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, written in 1999. Instead of looking at history linearly, they looked at history in terms of patterns of behavior over time. It was the most interesting and impactful book on history I’ve ever read. In short, they explored how history repeats itself and what we can expect if history repeats itself again. Their predictions have been pretty dead on since the book was written.

They predicted within a few years of the book being written, a large, one time event would occur that changes the political-economic landscape. This event would begin a 15-20 year phase of the cycle they referred to as “winter” (each period of the cycle corresponded to a season). Each “winter” for thousands of years ended with a major war or revolution. It seems this time, it may be ending in revolution. I highly recommend this read – it will give you a very different understanding of history.

So Here We Are

Many of my friends believe this election was about bigotry, racism, and ignorance. I agree a lot of that is under the surface. There is so much hate and pain in this world, it is easier to project it outwards then to look within. To blame others for our problems. And there is another side of the story which many have insulated themselves from…

People are struggling. The establishment in Washington DC has been totally corrupt for at least 40 years. All the wealth has been going to the top. People have lost great jobs and now are working for giant corporations who care more about money then people and planet. It is humiliating, infuriating for them. Why in a time of so much technological sophistication are so many struggling?

Over the past years, millions of people across the world realized the depth of corruption in our national and global political system. They see our representatives driving us off a cliff so the wealthy and powerful can become more so. While there were a lot of Pro-Trumpers, many more just wanted to see the end of this establishment. This system that only serves the wealthy. And so they voted to destroy it.

Sure, a lot of Trump supporters are just people with a lot of anger and hatred in their hearts. But he couldn’t have won with that alone. He won because the people are ready for something new. Now, it is time to suck it up and have a real conversation about what kind of world we want to live in. The people have the power, not politicians.

Stay Grounded in Love

According to “The Forth Turning,” this period of the cycle is always difficult. It is the beginning of a cultural renewal which will echo throughout time. It’s time for each of us to really understand each other. To reach out to those who do not agree with us and really understand them. We need to stop labeling ourselves as “right” and others as “wrong.” It isn’t helpful. It just isn’t. It is divisive and polarizing to think you hold the truth in that little brain. You don’t. Nor do I. Nor does anyone. We each get little puzzle pieces, and to understand the whole picture, we need to connect with those who hold the other pieces. And guess what – those puzzle piece holders definitely think differently than you do. And that is beautiful.

Diversity is humanity’s strength, not it’s weakness. We don’t all have to live the same way to get along. Recognize truth resides in each of us. Recognize there is no one truth. We are each here, having an experience. Trying to figure out how to navigate in this strange world. None of us really knows what is going on in this “life thing,” we just pretend to so our ego feels special. Life wants to express itself uniquely through each of us. Honor that.

The establishment in America is going to change. This could be an opportunity if we make it so. Focus on the world you want to create and start taking steps in that direction! What we’ve been doing hasn’t been working for a long time now. This is an opportunity to create something new. And the most powerful tool of transformation each of us has is unconditional love. Can you love those who have been polarized against you? I know you can. All of us can. Humanity is the race that overcomes. We will come out stronger. Ground yourself in that knowing. I love you all.