Dear Friends,
This week, as we are closing in on elections, I am taking a moment to step away from my normal posting content, which has been an overall attempt to avoid political posts.
Regardless of whatever happens, remember to be good to one another. Remember to be tender to one another. Remember that despite differences, most people are doing their very best with the information they have. Many people are frustrated by the social and systemic divide we are witnessing. Despite everything, we all have families we love, jobs we need, and a political climate we are disappointed in. Remember that most people want to be part of the solution; most of us just don’t know what it is, so we make due with the information we have as best we can. Remember this, and go be the very best version of yourself, whoever that is.
Despite what happens, you have the opportunity to make a choice, today and every day. You have the choice to be kind to others, to listen before speaking, to seek to understand, to work hard, to be joyful, to make small changes that make life around you better. Likewise you have the opportunity to make the choice to complain and be the jerk that cuts off the car next to you because you are pissed off about everything, making everyone feel like common courtesy has entirely been abandoned.
Remember that your freedom to both love and to hate comes at a high price. Your freedom is bought by the spouse wondering if their service member will ever come home. It is bought by the soldier who is too young to drink but has just been struck by a bullet. It is bought by the educated women and men who chose the life of being a military support and now can’t find a job. It is bought by the soldier who always suffers from some sort of PTSD. It is bought by the families who miss birthdays, christmas celebrations, Friday night barbecues year after year to serve our country. Remember that this freedom is bought. Make wise choices with this freedom.
Remember that freedom means you have the right to feel how you feel, but that does not mean you have the right to act on those feelings. We would all do a little better to think of the long term ramifications of our actions. Remember to be a critical thinker rather than an emotional responder.
Remember that not everyone is going to agree with you but it is still your duty to do the best you can with the best intentions possible.
Remember that you are going to encounter some jackass people and some ignorant commentary, but that doesn’t mean everyone out there is bad and or that everything has gone to shit.
Remember that even when this election seems to be a huge failure as a whole despite who you vote for, that there are things that are getting increasingly better each year – literacy for example.
There is a principle in Judaism that I love called Tikkun olam. It says the world has been been broken into pieces and it is everyones job to find them and put them back together again.
Whatever happens, find your pieces, keep both your head & heart about you, and remember that you have the opportunity to choose how you see and approach the world everyday. Whatever happens, be the best you that you can be.
Love & Light,
-T
