What will we create?

Hi Friends,

What are we going to create?

I’m not sure if we recognize it regularly, but we are creators. We create it all. Not the trees and the sky, per se, but indeed the life we live, the America we live in the world that our children, young people, and generations from now are inheriting and will inherit. And tomorrow we have the chance to either create it in a mindset of fear, or know the truth that as a powerful creator, the point of change starts with our minds and extends from there. Every single thing that we are doing right now - be it typing on our computer, reading this email, or drinking a cup of coffee - each one of those things started in a mind. Take the coffee for instance - the design of the cup…someone’s mind, the choice to taste coffee beans….someone’s mind, your want of coffee…your mind. Think about it, how many times have you decided that you “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” and thing after thing met you right where you were, on the “wrong” side? Even these systems of oppression like racism and classism…the first kernel of them - the need to keep power - was first created by someone’s mind and have morphed and grown into the behemoths that we challenge today. What if hope and possibility had the power to do that?  It does.

So, my question to you is, what are you going to create tomorrow. Tomorrow isn’t about changing the world, it’s about holding firm and solid in your knowledge of yourself as a creator. A creator of change, a creator of hope, a creator of light, a creator of peace, a creator of possibility, a creator of a world where no one has to do without, a creator of a world where people can see someone hurting and reach out rather than turn away, a creator of a country where we see our differences as things to dive into and understand - while valuing each human and being even in its difference. Sure, folks might say that you are a “Pollyanna” - I’ve been called that my whole life…but what I now know is that Pollyanna was a bad ass. She held firm in the face of negativity. She chose to see a possibility and a promise in what some might call darkness. Try that some time - it’s not easy. It’s like standing in a stream while the flow of water wants to carry you away. Tomorrow’s water will want to carry you. Decide what you will choose to be tomorrow, today. And stand in your knowing. I invite you to join we in a few practices tomorrow that will help remain in your knowing:

1. I invite you to stay off of social media for the whole day (if you’re even on it). The pit of social media will not change outcomes. There are millions of other platforms to get your news and election information. And on a day like tomorrow, if anything it will only focus on anxiety. You will end up riding someone else’s wave. Choose to ride your own.
2. I invite you to set an alarm for the top of every hour and spend 5 mins envisioning the world that you want to create. 5 mins. If 5 mins is too long, write down 5 different things at the top of each hour. Or write down the same 5 things every hour. Just join me each hour.
3. Send a text checking on 10 different folks in your life tomorrow. And maybe send them a text that includes one of your envisioned statements of the world you want to see. Better yet, invite them into these invitations and have a buddy for the journey. Liberation loves buddies.
4. If you have to check election results, do it only after you’ve done your five mins at the top of the hour. And set a timer and give yourself 5-10 mins. When the timer goes off, change the channel, choose a show or a movie to watch that allows your nervous system to rest and realign.
5. If election results are not in by the time you usually go to sleep, go to sleep anyway. You watching the election results come in will not change anything, but your restful sleep will. Change comes with clear thinking, and clear thinking is fueled by rest.
6. Pay attention to what your mind does. Tomorrow is one long meditation practice. When your mind goes to fear, anxiety, uncertainty, struggle…and on and on…bring yourself back to your breath. Ground in the present moment. Find something that is right in front of you (like your Southwest Airlines rubber ducky…is that just me?) that brings you joy. Breathe into the present moment.

Folks, we are creators. We have the ability to create a world that works for everyone. We do. We actually do. We first have to create a world in ourselves that moves through moments like this with presence and purpose.

Love always,
t.