post-apocalypse. First day of what comes next.

November 10, 2016

I’ve been mulling this over in my head, wringing it from one angle to the other. I’m in mourning right now. Am I mourning the fact that Donald Trump played the electoral college and won the presidency? In part, sure. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. I’m taking small solace in the fact that Clinton won the popular vote, but it’s pretty miniscule solace.

But the larger issue is that I am mourning the America I thought I lived in, a thought that turns out now was just that I was living in a bubble of pure ignorance. I can;t say it remotely as well as John Pavlovitz does, in this gorgeous piece called Here's Why We Grieve Today.

What can I do about it?

For starters, I can be a beacon of positive energy.

The sky one morning, worth embarrassing my daughter into taking this picture.

Honestly. I could feed into the hate and fear that got Trump elected. Oh it would be so easy. I am scared for my children, who will live in the world that he creates for a long time. His very words during the campaign were divisive and hate-filled. His running mate, the man who will be vice president of the United States, has said publicly that he’d like to imprison my daughter and subject her to electric shock “conversion therapy.” This election got personal very fast for me, and it floors me that there are people for whom this is not obvious - and not abhorrent enough to vote against him.

But who wins then? If I go the route of hatred and fear, who wins?

I choose love.

I choose light and positivity.

I choose action.

I choose conversation, and I seek to understand.

I choose to seek truth.

I choose to highlight acts of kindness and belonging.

I choose to engage with life.

Don’t get me wrong. Choosing positivity does not mean choosing passivity. I choose to stand up for those who are being bullied. I choose to fight, with every ounce of my being, for the rights and privileges that have been afforded to me and those I love. I choose to fight, loud and proud, to keep the America I believe in one of diverse voices, strong people, and personal freedoms.

But you’ll see me posting sunsets. And cats. And the cutest beagle around. Sailing. Food. And connections and belonging and people who stand up for others. You’ll hear me talk about fitness, and taking care of myself and those who need me.

You’ll hear and see me modeling the America I believe in.

Because if we do away with the fear and the hate, we will all win.