Well that was a shit election. I didn’t need to watch the needle – last evening’s downcast faces told me all I needed to know. The boom of a lone firework that went off at 11:30pm nearby announced what I knew was coming. The rest of that fitful restless night I tried, and failed, to sleep through the gnawing dread in my gut.
This week I am at the Grunewald Guild for Fall Arts Week, working remotely and offering spiritual direction to folks. This morning I watched the sun rise over the river and put on a few favorite comfort-food songs. Watched the dawn go from dark to less dark. Saw the faces of friends already bonded in loving community after just a few days. There are worse ways to awaken to disaster.
The day after the 2008 election, I remember being elated. I knew we were entering an increasingly just and compassionate politics. I was so wrong. In 2016 I was a melted puddle of goo on the kitchen floor, knowing for sure it was the end of the world. I was wrong then, too. Today sucks, but I have learned to not place my center and well-being on an election result. This is easier said than done.
Maybe the end of the world is coming. But the end of something is also the beginning of something else. Something new and likely surprising. That is the nature of apocalypse. Not knowing how it will go is sort of encouraging. There will be hard days. There have been hard days. Regardless of the outcome of this election it was going to be hard. If anything, there is at least that clarity. There’s no pretending and no hiding from this dark night.
But there are still mornings. Today is hard but it’s beautiful, too. I’m taking a deep sigh, and getting back to work, mining for beauty and offering hugs.
I hope you can do the same.
