Many of us woke up yesterday morning to find ourselves living out our worst nightmare.
The unthinkable, the unimaginable had happened in our election.
The sense of fear, sadness and anger is now so strong that we feel polarized. We either feel frozen and stuck, unable to do anything, or we want to run. But if we run and hide that terror will soon find us again.
So what do we do?
The feelings are overwhelming yet vaguely familiar. Because chances are we’ve lived them before in some other situation and circumstance. For me, it was reminiscent of waking up to another nightmare I experienced many years ago.
I remember clearly the moment when I realized that my marriage wasn’t the bedrock relationship that I thought is was. A simple text confirmed what I had feared for some time, and all of my attempts to push that reality aside hadn’t worked, and now I was face to face with a truth that I didn’t want to accept. It felt like my world was crashing in on me. Much like I felt after hearing the election results.
We’ve all had to deal with some of our worst fears before, and the lesson in moving forward from this current perceived nightmare lies in going back and learning from those past experiences.
When I went through my divorce, the thing that helped me the most was believing that everything would work out for the good. If I didn’t believe in that, I would live in fear. Holding to a strong belief that the energy of the universe is rooted in wellbeing and love helped me then to take actions that were aligned with love and trust. Believing this truth now is so important for those of us who desire to create a more loving world, who feel called to hold up light and love for all.
We don’t have to trust in the President-elect, we just need to trust in the energy of the universe and our own beliefs.
Choosing to live from love also shaped my interactions with the person I had the most contention with: my ex-husband. Making the decision to treat him with kindness and respect averted the negativity, resentment and judgment that would have surely fueled more animosity and divisiveness.
We now have the choice to treat others—no matter who they voted for—with the same kindness and respect.
The intensity of this current nightmare may not diminish right away. What started out as tears and melting down into fear and despair has now become clarity of vision and strength in moving forward.
Continuing to be strong and choose in the love and well-being of the universe, and acting from a place of love can make all the difference.
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A little love from our editor in chief, Waylon Lewis:
They’re giving you bad advice on what to do about Fear:
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Author: Ruth Barski
Image: @elephantjournal on Instagram
Editor: Khara-Jade Warren
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