This piece was first published on Facebook on Nov 10, 2016.
First of all, I want to send a big blast of post-election love to everyone who’s hurting, scared, angry, grieving, shocked, or inspired, determined, motivated, or all of the above.
I’ve been pretty dismayed myself, hearing people’s stories, imagining the extent of further damage that may be done to our Earth, and to so many people and creatures who live here…at just the time when so much healing is needed.
I wanted to send out some words of encouragement, and I have seen many others had a similar inclination,both on social media and out in the world. I really appreciate the messages of hope, courage, love, and positivity. And the sharing of feelings, fears, challenges, hopes—all of them.
In some moments I do feel hopeful. Mostly I have a sense that some needed change is underway. And although it doesn’t look like I wanted it to look, good can come of it. The important thing is to keep love in our hearts, to extend compassion, empathy, and kindness toward all beings. And to keep a sense of humor.
One of the things I love about Houston, the city I currently live in, is its diversity. There are so many people here from so many different cultures, and they all carry their own histories, perspectives, and experiences. Sometimes meetings of cultures can contain friction, but it’s still a beautiful thing that they can all exist side by side and all mixed up together. Taco trucks on every corner? We got ‘em, and ain’t nobody complaining!
The richness and variety of human experience and expression is a tremendous asset to us as a species, and as a country. It presents so much opportunity to learn about who we are as humans, who we can be, how much our assumptions and opinions are just that.
So it feels like a punch in the gut to hear and read the hateful things said about certain groups of people by the man just voted president, and to know that so many of my fellow Americans, including people I know and love, voted for him, despite, or even because of the fact that he’s said them.
Now, the racism and misogyny that have been partially hidden in our pseudo politically correct culture are coming into the light. This is good in the sense that it enables us to face the problem more directly—it’s harder to heal something that is hidden. But it’s also startling to start to get a sense of its magnitude.
A Chinese-American friend of mine told me how she was recently yelled at to “go back home.” She also mentioned a friend of hers had a jeep of white guys pull up to him in a parking lot and yell “Get ready for a new world, you f***ing ch*nk!”
A Mexican friend who is a physician told me her Facebook feed has become filled with derogatory memes and messages of hate toward Mexicans and Latinos. She is fair skinned, and she’s found herself suddenly wanting to put on her best American accent in public so people won’t know her ethnicity.
Fear breeds fear. Hate breeds hate. Greed breeds greed. These are the forces that have been voted for, whether everyone who did so realized it or not, and they are values the man soon to be president has embodied with apparent pride.
I see some people hoping and praying that it was largely a charade, and I’m open to that possibility, but it doesn’t matter at this point—energy has been set in motion, and things are changing. How that change unfolds and what results it generates depends on us.
I want to connect. I want to understand. I want to believe that if we can just communicate with a little bit of openness we can realize that it’s possible to coexist in peace and respect.
And I’m afraid that’s not true, that some people will hold onto their disdain for others’ basic rights and needs, hold onto their hate until everything around them is destroyed and hate is all they have left.
But despite my fear, I choose to embody love, hope, connection, and peace—because they are better, stronger, more real, and the foundation of the world I wish to live in. I may not succeed in every moment, but I will always come back to this choice.
I believe in, I envision, I call forth, I create a world in which the lives and needs of all beings are respected, in which we embrace the truth that we are all connected—not metaphorically, not in some mystical fantasy sense—literally, physically, here, now.
We are part of one system—eating, breathing, living, loving, sharing the same air, the same water, the fruits of the same soil, under the same sun and moon. Our fates are tied together. What hurts one person hurts us all, and what heals one person heals us all. What kills off one species robs us all of life. What poisons the air, land, and water profits no one, not even the people making money in the process.
I believe in, I envision, I call forth, I create a world in which all are free to love whom they choose, to pray if and how they wish, to live in harmony with nature.
I believe in, I envision, I call forth, I create a world where food is grown without being doused with poison, where the land is treasured and nurtured, because we realize it does not belong to us, but rather we belong to it.
I believe in, I envision, I call forth, I create a world in which war is a thing of the past, where people can live in their homes, in peace, where there are no refugees scrambling to survive, no veterans with PTSD and missing limbs, no loved ones lost to senseless violence.
I believe in, I envision, I call forth, I create a world in which everyone has a comfortable home, food to eat, and water to drink and be cleansed by.
I believe in, I envision, I call forth, I create a world in which women are treated with respect, their bodies are safe and sacred, they are loved and honored by both men and other women.
I believe in, I envision, I call forth, I create a world in which humans act as stewards of the Earth, living in respect for the delicate balance of its ecosystems, giving as much as we take, leaving oil and gas and coal where they belong, safely tucked away deep in the ground, away from the air and water and living soil that sustain us.
I believe in, I envision, I call forth, I create a world in which the diversity of humanity is respected, valued, and celebrated, where supremacy and racism do not exist.
I believe in peace. I believe in love. I believe in harmony and balance. I will continue to believe, and to do my best to act in accordance with this vision and these beliefs.
What about you? What world do you wish to live in?
*Image credit: Jennifer Griffin
