Looking forward to one thing, no matter how small, makes critically difficult times go by and endured with as much grace as possible. In the last few months, when I had to endure radiation for breast cancer, I caught myself using the same technique, and imagined myself in a different place, at the Bandon Cheese Factory, having an enormous ice cream cone before driving all the way home for a deserved nap.
Take this contentious political season. In less than a month, a new president will be selected, and we can all go back posting our usual posts on Facebook or Twitter or Blogger. We can also look forward to being better people for all the discussions we have had lately, about the issues that got us excited and vocal. For me, this has been a monumental campaign season, and I know we can't go back to the people we were before, just as I cannot go back to the woman I was before my breast cancer. I learned then that medical care should not be a privilege but a right, for instance.
We belong to a civilized society ruled by laws and treating people equally, regarding of their political affiliations, and these discussions move us forward to being more just, more equal, more supportive of each other.
In a sense, our biggest guarantee of safety and progress is the form of government we live in, a democratic republic with checks and balances, a true beacon to the entire free world.
What do I look forward to in this political season? Lots of discussions, big waves moving us forward toward that lighthouse, our ultimate destination, our commitment to a more perfect union regardless of all the squabbles and almost mutinies that marked our voyage.
Looking forward is a good thing.
9 comments:
Rosaria, you post has so much hope in it. I needed to read it. I think that the way you tied in your personal sense of looking forward to what was the expectation in the future while undergoing a physical ordeal to the current political climate especially illustrated just how optimistic you are about our countries future simply because of the way it was designed as a democratic republic. I keep coming back to that same hope. I keep reminding myself that we are a democratic republic no matter how much it looks like its future is at risk. I do hope that we move towards a more perfect union. I truly do hope that. We are seeing way too many "almost mutinies." I join you in looking forward. We never will be the same. Sometimes that is not a bad thing. Blessings.
This is such a wise and positive post. Thank you.
Looking forwards is a most excellent thing...
I hope that you are right and when this political season is over, we will alll go back to our corners and resume our lives. That is how it has always been done, but I have fear in my heart it might not be this time. It has been a hateful time.
Hi Rosaria - I wondered what was happening ... but you're obviously recovering and taking things at face value, enjoying what you can and remembering lovely stories from the past. The small things get us through ... and certainly helped me when my mother was so ill ... and now, infact, as another blips hits a chapter in my life ... all the best - and with many thoughts - Hilary
Ice cream can provide many wonders, inclu. some psychological relief. As for politics, I share your hope that we can all dispense with the nastiness and name-calling and remain civil to one another ... even those who disagree with us. Be well.
This political season is making me crazy and taxing any optimism I ever had. So, I'm glad to see that you're optimistic. I tell myself it's just because I live in the Deep South that I'm so overwhelmed. Surely, the sunshine is brighter in other places -- you've reminded me of that. After all, it does no good to fume. Far better to think as you're thinking.
I don't think there are many Americans who remember a time without electricity (that was not shut off). I don't think there are enough who can objectively look back, fore and present and be objective while separating the truth from the hyperbole.
I have to agree with you Rosaria, we have been through all sorts of turmoil before, be it foreign or domestic and we have come out the other side chastened and more willing to actually look for resolution. BUT when it comes to government I simply do not know. The winners will gloat, the loser will pout and if we don't move forward we may have lost the process entirely. There is so much wrong with what is so right, perhaps it is simply a matter of scraping the barnacles off the ship of state and returning to what America was once focused on.
What a beautiful, sensible and sensitive post, in the midst of one of the most bitter presidential elections ever. I do hope that sanity, reason and trust in our fellow human triumph on the night. Thanks.
Greetings from London.
I didn't realize you were going through this. Sending positive thoughts your way.
Post a Comment