After the Election:

Despair and Resilience

Like so many others, I find myself going through all the stages of grief—disbelief and denial, searching for answers—how the hell could this happen?—anger and rage, depression and despair. I haven’t quite gotten yet to acceptance and transformation, but I do know this, I will get there, and so will we all. We need to give ourselves permission to sit with the grief, to reach out to friends and loved ones for comfort and solidarity, to fully feel the disappointment and despair, and to trust that out of it will come clarity, vision and renewed determination. Let’s not turn the rage on one another or on the Democrats, or even on our fellow citizens who have made such a disastrous choice. Instead, let’s figure out how to organize in a new world of fragmented media, swamps of propaganda and disinformation, and lack of any trusted institutions. Let’s commit ourselves to building the movement we need, one that is broader, deeper and more welcoming than we have ever been before, one that thinks and plans strategically for the long term. Nature is resilient, and we are part of nature. If you are losing faith in your fellow human beings, look around at the leaves and grasses, at any green thing. Long, long ago, when early life began to run out of food, nature created a miracle—a molecule that use the energy of sunlight to turn air and water into nourishment. Alchemy! We can do the seem. Take a breath in. The very air is a gift of that miracle process, and every breath out is a gift back to the green world. We are connected, always, and regeneration is inherent in life. Trust in that, and we will find our way.