After the Associated Press announced that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would be the 46th president and vice president, respectively, of this already great United States, I experienced a range of emotions. The first was relief. Second, gratitude. Third, hope.
I sat in prayerful meditation and found myself going to a place I had not been in years. As I breathed deeply into my body, I became aware of a lightness around my heart. A melting away of the protective coating that has grown around that precious spiritual organ. I found my heart opening and I willingly and gratefully traveled as deeply into it as I could. My heart swelled with peace, gratitude and love.Â
Four years ago, my heart sank. I witnessed our great nation become less compassionate, less tolerant, angry, accusatory, self-centered and more violent. I experienced depths of anger, depression and violent thoughts that I never thought I was capable of feeling. I did not like who I had become. Those depths were constantly fueled from the top down. The divide affected relationships with friends as well as family. It was civil war.Â
A friend across the aisle said this was not an election about people but about causes. I beg to differ. The numbers are out and it was, ultimately, indeed, about people. The majority of the American people do not want that energy representing our country. Trump was never a president for all the people. He never claimed to be nor did he want to be. And, therefore, the divide grew and so did the anger.
But now and for the first time in years, I was able to hold all the people in my heart with hope, compassion and love. It’s not about the pandemic, abortion, the Supreme Court, the second amendment, our environmental or economic future, immigration, China, Russia… It is about truth, trust, responsibility, patience, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, civility, tolerance, listening, understanding, collaboration, science, spirituality, freedom, courage, generosity, celebrating our similarities as well as what makes us unique, equality and practicing true democracy. This is what we strive for as a nation.Â
It is part of my spiritual belief that the greater the light, the greater the darkness. That only when there is enough light available to heal will that darkness emerge. We, as a country, as a world have been through a very dark time. Now, in the light of this great nation, may the healing begin.
Terry Davis