I’ve heard it described in various ways this week, from “seismic waves” to “I don’t want to to talk about politics.” All the same, the election did occur and we must all live with the results. My friend Jaimal Yogis put it eloquently:

What do we do with despair, anger, fear, frustration? How do we let these massive waves exist in their own right without letting them turn to hate? Without losing compassion for all beings? How do we find wise action in a stormy world and rise above mere reactivity and karma? How do we become leaders of change that heal and unite rather than divide? How do we find peace inside so we manifest peace outside?

These are lifelong questions that Dr. Arnold Kozak and I hope to focus in on in our upcoming Spirit Rock retreat, a couple of days after the Presidential inauguration. We don’t have all the answers but in coming together with openness I know we’re all going to stumble on greater insight and love that can fuel the action our world needs right now. Hope you can make it.

I have my own strong opinions about the election and I also know that interest must always trump reactivity (pun intended). I was disappointed that more people didn’t vote (still only a fraction of the eligible electorate actually voted). I am still frustrated that we don’t have a better coordinated system that allows everyone who wants to vote to vote. Given these two issues, it is not clear what the results of this election mean. Is this really what most of the people want? Too many are silent to know. I’ve read that at least $5 billion was spent on the election. I think that money would have been better spent fixing our election technology. Not to mention the length of time this election cycle took and how it dominated the news. No wonder so many were stressed for so long. The presidency hasn’t always been a cult of personality. This is a more recent phenomenon. What just happened is important yet it is not the only thing of importance happening in our lives and the world.

Mindfulness can help us to sit with all these feelings and to see clearly the best path for moving forward with action. Fortunately, I’ve got plenty of books and workshops that can help us to do just this–holding all the feelings with a sense of equanimity, breathing into all the uncertainty, and moving forward with interest and compassion for self and others.

For a list of available workshops, please visit my website arniekozak.com