I wonder what many people are thinking this morning. I’m thinking mostly about people in the United States. I’m thinking mostly about people paying attention to the US presidential elections. I realize “now what” in this context is not at all limited to just Americans.
It was a shocker. Donald Trump won, again. Few people saw it coming for reals, which I suppose is one of the key themes since he entered the candidacy race 17 months ago in June, 2015. It’s just entertainment. It will pass.
It didn’t.
There will be a lot of sense-making in these next days. A lot of guffawing. A lot of “I told you so.” There is likely to be a lot of confusion. A lot of call for calm.
The pot is definitely stirred.
A part of me wants to claim resiliency. “We are a people who has had to adapt many times.” It’s a noble, rallying call. However, I think we as a people, regardless of orientation and voting preference, have opportunity and necessity to look more deeply. Allow, and invite, ourselves to feel the stirring and to find a centered, clear orientation together that helps evolve us as a people.
In my trolling through a news first thing this morning, one of the comments I liked most was from pal, Chris Corrigan. Chris is a thorough thinker, that seems to happen instantaneously with him. “The president of the United States is not ruler of the free world — stop saying that.” Free world is bigger than that definition allows.
My “now what” is pretty simple. Put my pants on. Do my version of making piece with myself. Do it with others. Be kind — deliberately so with mostly unnoticed acts. Grieve, sure. Feel it, yes. Offer what I can. What is different this morning is that the next President of the United States has been chosen. What isn’t different is the need for clear thought and plain old human goodness. This is a time for us to evolve, that’s what, in the best ways we can, just like it was yesterday and the day before that.
