Onward
I am relieved and drained. It has been a very long week in what was already a string of very long weeks and months. The weather helped a lot. It felt like spring again, except for the golden cast of autumn. It felt like a week to savor, yet we were all wanting it to end so we could have some certainty in our lives again.
The certainty is kind of here, 2020 style. It’s messy, but we have a president-elect and a monumental vice president elect. I am excited and hopeful, and I know not everyone feels the same way. There is a lot of disappointment, and that feels daunting to me. I am trying to keep faith that we can do better over the next four years. I personally want to move toward a better understanding of people and what they believe. I don’t want to make any assumptions based on politics. The narratives we have followed in news coverage are so out of date and irrelevant. I understand why people are angry at “fake news” that reduces them to caricatures. I understand why it’s insulting to showcase “experts” and talking heads with strong opinions who are out of touch with the realities of the subjects they cover. I find it hard to find a news source that doesn’t sound patronizing to some extent. The election results showcased a lasting division in our country, and it’s not going away unless we adapt.
I want to adapt. I want to understand. I don’t want to feel angry and threatened by opposing ideas. I want to compete with my ideas while honoring the opinions of others. I’m not sure how I’m going to do this, but 2020 gives a lot of perspective in non-judgement, so it has primed me to do this work.
I wish I knew exactly how to proceed. I only know that it’s imperative for me to ground myself so I don’t float away in a cloud of anxiety or fly off the handle with my untempered opinions. This forced COVID solitude is allowing me to practice a lot of presence with my feelings, and that’s all I’ve got.
