I've written and dumped a few blog posts since It happened. Oddly, I started with Reasons for Hope, then hope gave way to lament, so I parked hope and wrote First, Lament, but by the next day the fever had subsided and I felt empty, so I wrote nothing. Nothing spawned new layers of understanding, and then more confusion, and then a sense of community, because actually we are all fucking confused, and maybe that's a good place to start.
Confusion and maybe even paralysis are cousins of Not Knowing-- the Zen Peacemaker interpretation of the Buddhist precept, Cease from Evil! Years ago, I encountered a yoga teacher who started a weekend workshop saying that the best thing about yoga is that it keeps people from doing other stuff. Possibly he was a tad bitter, but I think he had a point. On Saturday, my Zen teacher, Ryotan, told a story about a monk who became enlightened after his teacher blew out his candle. So, that's where we are. We thought we knew, but we did not. It is dark.
Not knowing is the prerequisite for effective action, but in the midst of high emotion we want to wail or scream or do stuff now. That's why the first few days were a flurry of desperate actions. Such actions are not systemic change, but they help us lament. Though normally overwhelmed by crowds, I needed to make my way into the center of a rally, embracing intensity like a giant group hug. Rage was running high. Several Trump supporters, fresh faced young white men, showed up. A woman my age was shouting at them in agony. A younger woman patronized and flirted with them. (Please, what female word can capture that quality?). An even younger woman, very serious, interviewed them. I heard them repeat: "it's been taken out of context." I left the rally, meditated with my community, and somehow rage transformed into love. "Mourning turns ecsatic from surplus," said my comrade Filip.
We do have to understand the causes and we do have to do something, but we need to work with complexity, not yield to the temptation of simplicity as so many voters did. And there are many reasons for hope. Here are a few that are circulating:
- At least now we know. Misogyny is rampant and unconscious and this is a wake up call.
- The system will stop him from doing too much damage (actually I don't buy this).
- He will do so much damage that there will be a sharply focussed dissent. blah blah blah
My biggest reason for hope right now is what I see among my friends and clients. Our Roshi (Election Blues) said that each of us has something that we know we need to do. It is happening already, even in the midst of reckoning. People are touching into their deep wisdom and moving. I believe we are entering into the most creative period of our lifetime. Crones are waking up. Our talented younger sisters who pissed us off by not being polite can inspire us instead. Personally I've had it with playing by the rules of the boy's club. It's time for change.
Coming Soon: Refuse. Respond.