How are you doing today? There is a new president elect. The clocks have been set back. A lot has changed since we last talked. But has that much really changed?
You are still waking up in the same bed. You are still in your same body. You are still living your same life, rich with its pleasures and pains. You are still part of the same community as before, and you still have to interact with your neighbors every day. Sure, there has been a big symbolic change-over in this country, but symbols are only as strong as we make them. We can either fight what has happened and stay negative and reactive, or we can ride these waves of change to find new solutions to old problems and take more responsibility for our own lives. Because, folks, with great responsibility, comes great power, not the other way around. The more of our lives that we personally own, the better we become at creating what we want. This is the same lesson I remind myself of every day. Take any mountain and break it down one step at a time. I can't change the mountain, but I can take the next step.
No matter what your political leaning, I encourage everyone to put their best foot forward. Personally, I like to smile whenever anyone talks politics (or religion) with me. I smile because I know that no matter how different we are, we are all fundamentally the same. The Dalai Lama put it nicely when he said that whoever he meets, he knows three things about them instantly--"They have a mother, they are going to die, and they want to be happy." I strive to see others in the same way. To find our commonalities and find learning in our differences. We are all humans trying to live the best lives that we can. Everyone has a story that makes sense to them if you are willing to stop for a moment and listen. Perhaps we can all live closer to a place of universal love. Perhaps we can find more genuine and healing ways of treating ourselves and our neighbors. Perhaps we can practice what the Dalai Lama means when he says, "my religion is kindness."
What do you guys think? Can we do it? How?