The Election Is Over

Here’s something for those that are freaking out… This was quite the interesting election, in which more people than ever felt like none of us would come out winners. More people than ever despised both candidates. Of course, many fully supported Trump and many fully supported Clinton. But I’ve never seen it where so many others thought each was a total disaster. And the anti-Trump sentiments are more than I’ve ever seen against one candidate. So I’m writing this mainly for the people that are totally freaking out right now and think the world is coming to an end. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t; I don’t know. But I’m going to see as clearly as possible, not obscured by feelings, and have the best day I can. Even if it sucks. Honestly I’m not one of the ones freaking out, but that doesn’t mean I’m better than anyone. I’ll freak out at things others might not. We all have our flavors. I know many that are freaking out, and I can absolutely see why. No judgment at all here. We have a very unconventional president now, so freaking out on the part of many citizens would be normal. And this is for them.

I’m not too political myself, and I wasn’t thrilled with either candidate. I’d love to see a female US president, but the Clintons seems to be pretty corrupt sellouts, like most in Washington. And Trump seems like a low-character buffoon. I have no idea if he has any actual policies, and maybe he does. Or maybe he’ll “surround himself with smart people” like they always said about George W. when people questioned his intelligence. I don’t know. But in the end, it seems that a total disgust for fakeness and a broken system in Washington won out over all the despicable character issues and question marks surrounding Trump. And I can see that! I mean, the guy is a wild card, to say the least. But people have been fed up for a while. I knew they were fed up, but not this much. He insulted every possible group and still won. That’s a lot of disgust for Washington politics right there. Unless it was rigged for Trump, the people spoke. And some say it’s about the changing demographics in the US, and many white people are freaked out. So they showed up at the polls in record numbers and that’s what did it. Who knows?

So here’s the main thing if you’re freaking out right now – the mind keeps trying to make sense of it or “fix” it. But that’s not possible. And it’ll just make you feel terrible. Earlier today, I got a call from a beautiful and wise friend that’s found herself super triggered by this, and that’s exactly what I told her. All the thinking in the world will only make you feel worse. So for now, just say “Wow,” or in her words, “Holy sh*t.” And then let that be all the thinking you do. And take a huge breath and let the body relax as much as it can. Get out of thought altogether, even if for only a few seconds. When you do this, the days will pass, feelings will clear out, and clarity will arise on its own. And you’ll feel better faster. So that’s HUGE, the chatterbox trying to constantly fix it. But it will only make you feel worse. Your wisdom is there the whole time, so give it some space in which to operate. And it will. And you’ll feel better. Re-read chapter 11 of The Untethered Soul if you need to for a refresher on straight-up feeling, as nameless energy moving through your system. And it’ll move much faster, letting you feel better, and clarity about the situation will arise on its own. A win-win.

Then we have acceptance. Palpable acceptance. This has happened, period. It has happened. Tell yourself this as you breathe deeply into the body, without the what-ifs and analysis and chatter. Again, that’s the overactive mind freaking out. It comes from a good place, because you have legitimate concerns. But it won’t help. As the feelings flow, you’ll see it more clearly. Analyze it next week, but not now. I actually wrote a post in 2012 called This Has Happened, so read it in case there’s any nugget that might help. It describes what is meant by palpable acceptance. It’s palpable because you go to the body and feel what comes up as you let it sink in that “this has happened.” So you’re letting the feelings move and eventually leave your system. And you’ll feel lighter and better much faster. The feelings won’t get stuck. And remember that acceptance ultimately comes down to the fact that it’s a done deal, and there ain’t no time machine. Not yet, anyway… I love quoting Byron Katie, who said, “When you argue with reality, you lose. But only 100% of the time.” Because… This. Has. Happened.

You can have all the reasons why this is a disaster, and all your friends might agree with you, and many other smart people might agree with you, but it’s not going to change anything. That’s why I’m writing this, to get you to feeling better faster. This isn’t about changing your beliefs at all; it’s only about you feeling better. Also if your body is telling you that this is a really, really big deal to you, give yourself permission just to feel off for a while, not resisting the feeling. Even that alone can give those feelings space to move. A friend of mine actually apologized to me today for being in a sour mood, and I said all good! But she’s a wise one herself, and she said she’s being real and giving herself this day to feel that way. And she knows she’ll be fine. Awesome! This is the fast way to peace and acceptance.

My thought this morning when I saw the results was hey, if he’s the president then let’s see some change in Washington. Let’s see term limits, changes to big money buying politicians, overall limits to campaigning, etc. And again, if your mind comes in with a million reasons about the environment, his temperament, lack of inclusion, etc., then you need to go back to acceptance. Because you can’t do anything about that right now. Stay in your wisdom, which says that yes those are concerns. But it’s done for now. “This has happened.” So hopefully some changes can be made to the system, because we can all agree that it’s deeply flawed. And if he’s a disaster, then he most likely won’t be reelected in four years anyway. And despite what it may seem, four years is not forever.

So I wish you all the best, and if this helps at all then send it to someone that needs it. Let feelings flow and stay out of the head, judging it. Because it only leads to pain and doesn’t fix anything. You’ll start to feel lighter after a while, naturally, and you’ll be able to see it more clearly. I wish you luck, and we’ll see what goes down. I’m sure it won’t be dull! Hopefully he doesn’t get us blown up. Hopefully he shakes up Washington. Hopefully he respects women. Hopefully he trims the ridiculous amount of governmental fat. And if he doesn’t, he’ll be out. And hopefully we see more of Alec Baldwin on Saturday Night Live.

Also know that the young folks today are a WAY different breed than any of us before. And they’re the ones voting more and more with each election. The world is changing, and it’s speeding up all the time. And we have no idea what it’ll look like in the future. So let’s stay together and see how this goes down. And as my wise friend told me today, she still knows, despite all the feelings swirling in her body now, that the best way to effect change in the world is to look inside yourself. If we all do that more and more, clearing out our old BS, then it’ll naturally be expressed in the outer world. We got this.

And finally, zooming out all the way, let’s not forget about the vast amount of near death and other research indicating that we are absolutely not these bodies, earth is not our home, its all good no matter what, and true self that we are is actually fine always, totally safe. Read or listen to Dying To Be Me if you need to. This is BIG! There’s a ton of evidence out there supporting this, and it’ll be common knowledge in the future. When in doubt, zoom out. At the end of the day, it’s all good. And it’s okay to not understand why things happen the way they do. There must be a really good reason. That’s what I tell myself, anyway, and that’s what I truly believe. But I make myself stop and feel it when I’m feeling triggered by external stuff like this. Okay, there we go, just some thoughts, I love you, and let’s not judge it too quickly. We got this! And maybe some good will come out of this in the end.