The last 10 days have been extremely unnerving and painful. While I have made a pact with myself to keep this site politics free, the way that I have been impacted by political events is relevant blog material.
On January 20, Donald Trump signed the formal documents at the US Capitol to become President of the United States, minutes after vowing to give “power to the people”, “put only America first” and “eradicate Islamic terrorism from the face of the earth."
10 executive orders have followed in quick succession.
Fascination dances with fear. Fear partners with judgement. And judgement seems to push me into a corner where I see only the wall.
I've signed petitions that may reach the Prime Minister, or not, cheered when a federal judge in Seattle suspended the President's executive order banning immigration from 7 mainly Muslim countries, and immediately wrote a loving text to the Syrian family we are sponsoring.
I have spent an inordinate number of hours online.
While earlier my Facebook page had been a place to share my photographs and some quotations, it now has posts that are both angry and frightened. I'm notified by an email when Facebook Friends share these negative posts and so the chain grows longer.
It is hard to admit that finding something truly outlandish to post becomes a bit of a challenge.
The Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards sits unopened since the January transfer of power in the United States. Before that time, I had allowed myself to read only one short story a day, to stretch out this wonderful book. Why have I neglected these stories that have given me such pleasure? I make up that I need to save the book for when I'm in a good mood so that I will appreciate it more. hogwash!
Hmmmm...am I keeping myself from feeling joy? Does my rightful indignation feed a piece of myself? And, if that is true, why is it so? What happens to the loving and compassionate part of myself when the anger takes up so much room?
I have been feeling exhausted this week, pale skinned and weary. My body and mind feel as it had when I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia. My body hurts. I'm not eating well. I'm at the computer too much. Today, I feel I've accomplished something when 2 loads of laundry is done...but now I realize that I need to make up my bed with these clean sheets. I'll ask Brian to help.
Okay. The letters the words and the sentences are typed. And reread.
Once again I realize that my job is to touch with kindness and care those in my community: the clients at the food bank at St John the Divine, who may cherish my smile and welcome as the single gift of acceptance they experience all day and those who are experiencing homelessness and who sit on the wet corners of our downtown streets.
I have warm socks to give and the kind courage to look directly into their eyes
On Tuesday I gave my seat to a young mother and her infant son in a crowded airport.
I said "Thank you" and "Please" and "I'm sorry," and meant it.
I'm going to cook comfort food for dinner- scrambled eggs with sautéed peppers, bitter greens and onion, alongside toasted challah that a dear young friend made for us.
Afterwards, I'm going to leave the computer in 'sleep' mode and read a short story. I've just checked where my bookmark rests: the story is titled Balance.
Your words strike a chord with me Jackie. Balance, kindness, courage--these are the attributes we need to cultivate. The world is crazy and scary and I think it best to limit our exposure to the fear and craziness. Walking, being in nature, quiet conversations, reading--all these help us keep centred in the love that we are. Thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteYes! Just beautiful and right. Thank you for capturing what many of us our feeling so perfectly. I love the way you are processing this.
ReplyDeleteWe need to push but we also need to retreat into quiet, friendship, and connections, whatever sustains our soul so we can push, not all the time, but strategically.
We need to find others to work with, this is too big to do alone, and we need to surround ourselves with a searching community.
We need to monitor our time on FB — use a timer so we don’t get sucked in — and exactly as you’ve done here, weigh our words and our shares and our likes carefully so what we say has the power we intend and we don’t add to the noise.
And most of all, we need to remember that beauty is there in many forms and not to feel guilty for visiting it when we need to. It is where we get our power and where what the other side is doing, in contrast, gets its shame.
Hippos, graduation photos, and elephants too, sometimes for a little bit we just need to pretend it isn’t happening for a few minutes.
Breath deep and carry on.
Laurie
The February body bla's...it's a tough month for the body and mind..a 5 Element acupuncture season tune up is in order for most. On the global aspect, I knew if Trump got elected we would have an uproar and rightly so. I personally made a decision after 18 months of pre election negative posts that if Trump won, there would be 4 more years of daily negative posts by the millions. I decided I wasn't going to read one Trump post from anyone, or post any myself, or sign any petitions and I haven't....I skim by the all of them and only read those Facebook posts and emails that have family goings-ons and fun. I don't believe anything will change south of the border, which saddens me, and I think that we who are sensitive can never understand all the craziness, getting sucked down the rabbit hole. Perhaps, this Trump power will shock enough like minded beings for change next time. I imagine the next pre election posts for 2020 will start next year and go for 2 years..God help me. Deb feel better soon
ReplyDeleteLoved today's entry. It echoes exactly all the confusion and distress we're all feeling. You encourage your readers toward enrichment and self-preservation. Well done! Jan
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