Today is Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in Canada (yesterday in the UK), a time for us to thank those who fought for our freedom and remember those who did the same, but are no longer on this physical plane to thank in person. We honor you and thank you in Spirit.
Until last week, our country's voters were on a battleground of a different sort. And like all wars, (in my opinion) nobody ever wins. Even when there is an apparent victor.
If anticipating the results of an election wasn't stressful enough for us collectively, the ammunition hit too many of us on the home front as well. Families have been broken apart, marriages have been severed and people who have held onto hope for a different outcome have resorted to leaving the country or worse, ending it all.
This, all because of one person. Like many of you who did not vote for the president-elect, I am bewildered. Not only about what that means for our country's future, but more about how did we as human beings become so hateful and mean?
And before you say it's because the candidate that got the most votes is hateful and mean, just stop for a moment. Take a good hard look at all the hateful and mean posts you've read on social media, commercials you heard on television, the editorial page of just about any newspaper! The ugliness permeates both political parties and definitely bleeds beyond the borders of politics in general. I struggle to find the truth anywhere anymore...except for my own.
And again, all because of one person, it seems. If you think that person wants to be king, the American people have certainly pronounced him so. Not just because he won the election, but because all of us keep shouting it for the whole world to hear. The Universe doesn't hear your anger, your disdain, the hateful tone in your voice. All it sees and hears is that America is soon to be ruled by a man who said out loud that he will be a dictator, but only on Day 1 of his presidency. The Universe didn't hear that he was just joking.
But what if we changed the vernacular going forward? What if we changed our language, our own rhetoric? Speak up for what we want, not what we don't. Because that's what is going to have to happen for us to move forward together regardless of who we voted for.
What if we drop the weapons and lift up our hearts taking aim FOR the greater good instead of against what we deem as wrong and not in our best interests? Mother Theresa said, "I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there."
That is what I'm talking about. Peace.
Listen, I'm not happy about the outcome of our election, but I do love my country and I will continue to fight FOR the rights of all of humanity. My alma mater, Seton Hill College (now University) has a motto for this occasion: "Hazard Yet Forward" which originated in the 12th century. It means that whatever the danger, we move forward.
I do this first with peace in my heart. As the song goes, "let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me." Second, I pray to accept the reality of "what is" knowing with every fiber of my being that Third, regardless of who is the POTUS, as an American I am still FREE to fight FOR what I believe.
And I believe that freedom is the real American dream.
Today, I'm thanking all veterans for my personal freedoms which were hard won for sure, and I am ever grateful to all who sacrificed everything for those freedoms. I promise to continue to exercise that freedom for the greater good. I hope you'll join me.
Peace.
This is the thinking that I wish more folks were embracing. Your words speak volumes!
Comments are very true.