[stag_dropcap font_size=”50px” style=”squared”]T[/stag_dropcap]oday , this day, I must believe in something.
The tide is turning, the frothy waves are rolling in. And with them comes spraying, splashing, saturating change. Change is crawling up my shoreline, whether I am ready for it or not. Sticky change. Trapping change. Change that is sure to render discomfort, discord, and frustration as I make my way around in this hardscrabble world.
As someone who believes in science, and facts, and decency, and the supposedly shared goals of humanity, this “new world order” is terrifying.
So, I will choose to believe in something honest and innocent today.
I am a talented, active believer in so much. I believe in the power of kindness and intellectual answer-seeking over blissful (or hateful) ignorance. I believe in the preservation of tranquility, and clean, open land. I believe in the sheer beauty of our earth and animals, and why we must conscientiously honor them. And, every year, I believe my team will win the world series. I am a blind believer, it’s true.
But, I have questions.
Questions about my capacity to continue looking at the bright side in the face of battering change. To continue trusting that things will work out because we, the people, will rise and defend. To fully understand what makes a life (mine and yours) happy and complete amidst the chaos of our country.
To make a point of believing, through disillusionment, is a mindful exercise. It’s work. Awareness work. Blind faith work. Mostly, though, it’s about making a choice.
Despite mounting evidence to the contrary in what I see and read, I can choose to believe that there is more good than bad in the world. More joy than sorrow. That there are more of us “little people” who want to give rather than take. More who wish to replenish instead of deplete. More of us seeking truth over falsehood. Honesty over the spin. More who feel compassion before apathy. More legitimate news reporting and fact analysis over distorted, click-bait, sensationalized pieces meant to incite rage and galvanize division.
Yes, I can believe that we, the little people, are stronger than the demons who have captured some of our power-seekers, if I so choose.
In my world, I will continue to believe in friendship, human connection, and strong ties that bind. I will protect people, champion noble, sincere endeavors, and cherish the raw beauty I experience whenever I look for it.
These are the simple gifts of life, yes? And once these gifts are tasted, we always hunger for more.
I will deliberately choose love over hate.
It is free, and it is rampant. It is everywhere I look—when I bother to look. I can feel it, taste it, and hear it. I can see it and smell it too.
Love surrounds us when we lift our bowed, melancholy heads and simply reach out.
It is wild, and it must be honored. So, I will honor the love I find and feel by giving it back.
I can inhale love and let it expand my soul. I can expel it out into the world to weave its god-like, soothing magic on those suffering, those filled with loathing, those locked behind heavy doors, those in the trenches, those who feel hopeless, those who are lost, and those raised to fear our vast and wondrous differences.
I can let my little love drench all the hate I see.
That’s how it will win.
I will continue to believe in the strength of women. I know that our heavenly, life-giving wombs and equally engaged minds, are not property. Women near and far are not here to be governed, given, guided, gawked at, or gated. We matter. Our hearts and heads matter. Our bodies matter.
The life we create holds the love we seek.
I believe in the power of children. Their innocence, their sense of wonder, their questions, their rights, their promise, their potential, and their ability to simply show us all what’s really important. If we bother to listen. Because, children truly matter the most.
Today, this day, I must believe in something. So, I will listen.
When I listen first, I can hear them.
Those crashing waves of painful change. That blustery wind begging me to honor its presence by giving something back. My battle-worn sisters calling my name, calling me to believe in the power of love harbored and love freely given, along with the good people banding together to nurture it. Those laughing, blameless, curious children with all their questions.
I can feel the sacred inspiration, the breath of all who believe that love will someday cast its warm blanket over the world, when I bother to engage all my senses. I know from existing mindfully, from knowing what love looks like, smells like, tastes like, sounds like, and feels like, that the walls of hatred are cracking and crumbling down.
Today, this day, I choose to believe in prodigious, honest, and innocent love.
