After election night, I came into the office wondering how I could possibly be helpful to my clients, who I knew were going to be feeling so much of the exact same dread and fear that I was feeling.
Where this country is currently going, the direction that we are pointing at this moment, is a scary thing to think about. And worse, most of us had absolutely no expectation that we would end up here. (I personally never thought a guy who said and did what he said and did could EVER win the position of the highest office in our land.)
What we do know, is that the worst case scenario for this country in the coming months and years, is truly terrifying, and the best case scenario is likely going to hurt a lot as it becomes reality. Even if some of what happens ends up going well, we know that much of the long-term effects will either hurt us, or someone we love directly in some way. We don’t know where we will land in 4(+) years, but we do know that where we are going will be painful at the very least, dire at worst.
‘So”, I asked myself coming into the office on Wednesday, “what in the world could I do to be helpful, knowing the truth of this?”
What ended up happening in my counseling sessions last week, was our conversations landed in a place around what my clients could do in the coming weeks, months and years to be as close to their best as possible, given the reality that times might start to get incredibly tough and their ceilings for their individual best-self might shift from where it’s been recently. Maybe, in the immediate future, each of us will be a little more angry, sad and/or anxious than we would be had the outcome been different last week. So, if that’s the case, (as it is for me and many), what then, is ‘our best’ in this reality.
What control do each of us have over what is to come, and what do our individual strengths allow us to do, to help ourselves, our communities & our loved ones.
So I decided, after my emotions calmed, I felt a bit less overwhelmed, and I moved closer to acceptance about the undeniable facts of our current reality, that this was what I wanted to write about today.
All that we can do, is to become our own individual best-selves and use our strengths to help us and others, however we can. For some that means writing, creating, putting our thoughts and feelings out there for others to see, feel and consider. (I am guessing that some of the most amazing artwork, books, plays, music, blogs, columns etc.. are about to start being created.) For others it means getting politically involved, locally or nationally. (Another guess, there’s going to be an amazing politician (or several) in years to come who says they were motivated by this election to get involved. And that person is going to change politics and our country for the better.) There’s donating to worthy causes that will likely see a drop in funding soon and for the foreseeable future, and there’s supporting ourselves and our loved ones by spending time together, talking, cooking, socializing, and spreading love.
I am planning on keeping a closer eye on politics, left, right & center, in the coming months and years, because I know that both staying informed of what’s truly happening and knowing that I am not alone in my views is important for me. Further, I know that seeing everything as clearly as possible, even the scary horrible stuff, helps me stay calm and feel more in-control. I want to be prepared, rather than blindsided.
So figure out for yourself, what do you, at your best, do best…. then go do it, knowing that if we all stay involved, doing our individual best, we will get through this as well as we possibly can. And that is VERY different than allowing this to make us our worst and maybe not getting through this at all.
From here to a place where we struggled but fought, is BOUND to be better than from here to a place where we whined and gave up.
Game on. Let’s go.
Rebekka
