The Source

I, like many in the United States have spent the last several days in a fog.  I was immersed in grief after having hopes dashed of what the future presidency could look like for the country.    No matter your political or ideological leanings, we have all felt that despair when our preferred candidate does not win.  For a host of reasons this election felt different, and I will spare using this space to go into detailed account as to why, but rather, I will use this moment to celebrate a truth that I have known for sometime and I have had to rely on heavily in these past few days.  The ultimate truth is that the source of my power does not lie in a political candidate or anyone else. 

I spent several days after the election lethargic at work, doing workouts with less than full vigor, and limiting the ways in which I contributed to others.  When people asked what was wrong, I would say the election, I would say my disappointment was causing me to move with less resolve than I normally do.

It was one eventful morning on the treadmill when it came to me; the election was not the cause for why I was showing up as I had, I was.  -Neither Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump were with me hindering me from getting up and having productive workouts, keeping me from completing the task I had at hand, or from being able and willing to contribute to others in the ways I normally do.

I was giving power to a process (an election) that never asked for, nor was not deserving of my power.  I realized that if I did not get a hold of my responsibility to effectively manage myself, I would begin to harbor resentment in ways and in directions that were not merited.  When we rely on others through a democratic process to be our “source” for more than governmental policy and procedure; but instead,  for our joy, for our pain, and for our enhanced, or limited contributions, we do not fully honor ourselves, or their position.   So slowly, one step at a time I am reflecting on my power and responsibility.   As I continue to remember my ultimate source of all, I get greater access to my own power, and to my own ability to enact change.  You see when we use our internal compass to guide us to truth, it matters less whether the road ahead is rocky or smooth, because we are confident in our guide and in knowing that through strength, faith, and love, our destination will find its kinship with destiny.

The Harvest

When I was younger, I remember elders in my family often saying, “You reap what you sow.” For the longest time, I thought this phrase was just about sowing seeds of wrongdoing and the wrath that came from them. All these years later, I realize to reap what you sow is not based in harm or good; it’s based in fact. When we sow love, peace, and compassion—love, peace, and compassion is what we find in return. When we sow hate, revenge, and scornful behavior, that, too, we will reap.

Joel Osteen once spoke of God’s grace being like a bamboo plant; it takes years for the roots of a bamboo plant to settle; it will look like no growth is occurring, but in year five, the plant can shoot to above eighty feet. I love this parable because the same is true for the seeds we sow in our own lives. 

So often I have been tempted to move in a direction outside of love. I have been given seeds by others’ ineffective deeds—the seeds of vengefulness, attack, and ill will. We all have, at one time or another, been given these seeds, and it’s up to us whether we decide to sow them. I know for myself, despite the temptation, I meditate and work earnestly only to plant seeds of love.

We all can admit to falling short on this kind of planting from time to time, but what I know for sure is that despite circumstances that may arise, all of our seeds (good or bad) will come to bear fruit, and it will be incumbent upon us to accept the harvest of the seeds we have sown.

Grab Hold of Faith

Without faith, extraordinary things are not possible.  In biblical terms, faith is described as "the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1)." Regardless of your religious (or non-religous) tradition, each of us is asked, or rather invited, to a place of faith if we are truly looking to see love manifest in our lives. 

The book, A Course in Miracles describes that often where we experience the most fear, is where love is also most present.  In simple terms, the ones we love the most, are those same people who we experience with the greatest amounts of fear. The only weapon to combat fear is faith. It is in that space of faith that we can show patience when intolerance seems permissible, where we show commitment in the face of the temptation to quit, where we offer compassion when the voice to attack is looming. It is in faith that we find solace when love's presence seems hard to find. It is in faith that we prepare our spiritual home for an intimate love, when there seems to be no resident in sight. 

Above all things, we are asked to have faith; for it is in our faith that we testify to our love for others.  All of us can find a mate: someone who is "safe" that does exactly what we ask, who follows every play in the rule book we have created in the sport of love, and who will give us every predictable outcome we desire. But to find a mate that stirs your soul, transforms you and your lived experience, well that will only be done by faith. Doubt , fear, and anxiety are the tools used by the ego to distract from the possibility and promise around the corner - so whenever the trifecta of doubt, fear, and anxiety come your way, grab hold of faith, knowing that the promise land of peace, joy,  abundance and love are eagerly awaiting your arrival after this chapter of learning and self-discovery is complete.