Going Forward Into Tomorrow
How A Walk With My Dog on a Sunny Day in January Changed Things
I did something different today. Instead of looking at my news feed I went and took a walk, listened to birds, played ball with our dog Riley. And I simply allowed my reflections to rise, like on the quiet of a pond after a rock that has been thrown into it has settled onto the bottom.
For five years I have been a news checker. For five years I felt the uncertainty of every day based on the decisions being made by 45’s administration. For five years I felt the certainty of what his administration would bring, chaos and fear. I had no idea it would manifest as it did on January 6, 2021.
But now, those who feel as you or I might have over these harrowing years are faced with another kind of dilemma. We are faced with friends and family who feel the same way now that change has come. It is visceral for them, but in a different way. Instead of looking at a news feed they are replaying the reels from messages from the past, reading and rereading the fear-based messages they have come to depend upon, even as it terrified them at a soul deep level. Perhaps they are Qanon followers. Perhaps they have been deeply conditioned by who they follow on social media platforms. While my and your news feed might have circulated and changed, theirs did and have not.
We, as unique persons, are not meant to follow and yet we all do it. As I walked, I considered that we are here to express our unique gifts and insights so that I can learn from you and you and can learn from me. Follow, no. Be inspired, yes.
For those of us who wake up each day feeling a little less anxious, feeling a little more confident about the direction of our country, more hopeful that a COVID vaccine is on its way, our job is to inspire and to speak out at the same time to the inequities we have faced as a nation of people trying to make democracy work. What happened on January 6 is not going to work if we are to maintain our Republic.
If we are to live in a free America, we must decide to be part of the solution. To see racism and inequities where it exists, whether it be in our homes, in our police stations, in our board rooms, or in our hearts. None of us are innocent when it comes to our own prejudices.
This all became clear to me as I walked this morning, in the sunshine, playing with my dog whose only hope is that I throw his ball and love him. By doing something different the fog lifted. So maybe try doing something different today. It might change your life and heal our world. Even if it is only an inch at a time, at least we might have a chance.
Stay safe, be well, and may you be guided by a higher authority than that of another person. In the end, it is more important to love and honor yourself, forgive your own sins, and move away the overcrowded furniture that clutters your mind so you can breathe again. Perhaps that will go a long way to bringing COVID to its knees too. I do continue to believe in miracles.