Into the Storm

The closer we get to the election, the quieter my heart and soul get. I wish it was a quietness rooted in peace and trust that things will be ok. I wish I could say I was blissfully unbothered by the potential outcomes. I wish I knew what to say to help myself and anyone else find a healthy place to put the tension we are all sensing.

I honestly don’t know what to say. The quietness I’m experiencing is like the calm before the storm. The clouds are gathering, the pressure is dropping, the sky is getting darker. Something is coming, and I’m tired. It’s a tiredness in my soul that’s been echoing in my body. It can’t be remedied by getting enough rest. I’m tired of the repeated buildup of stress that comes with unprecedented national and global events. Between Covid and all the political unrest of the last 4 years, I’m wondering if we aren’t all suffering from some kind of national pre and post-traumatic stress syndrome. And now, all signs point to more unrest no matter what the outcome of our next general election.

For me, the most concerning aspect of this whole experience is that the very thing we depend on the most is what seems to be the most at stake. I’m talking about relationships. I’m talking about loving and caring for each other above and beyond our political affiliations and ideologies. One of the great challenges of our time is this: can we love each other in the face of our differences? These differences are not insignificant. Sometimes they represent major ideological separations that result in people being harmed, and humanity being disrespected, disregarded, and ultimately denied. There’s no excuse for any of it…but is there love in the face of it?

To fall away from love, even in these extreme circumstances is to find ourselves on the path of hate. The responsibility of those who choose love over hate has never been, and will never be fair. Choosing love over hate means taking on the responsibility of loving beyond the concept of whether people deserve it or not. The whole point is that love loves whether we deserve it or not. Is it really love if it depends on whether or not we deserve it?

We’re headed into the storm again. We all know it. How we choose to treat others in the midst of the storm may well define the years ahead more than anything else. Love isn’t fair, but it’s the only choice that will carry us through to better days together and not apart. Lately I’ve been returning to Dr. King’s famous quote, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I’m now more convinced than ever that the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice is directly related to and dependent upon our choice to love in the face of hate. The long bend toward justice is not a forgone conclusion, but we can be a part of ensuring it’s path.