A Modern Feminist's Christian View

The other day Calvin posted this tweet: "I swear to god if Mike Pence tries to regulate my uterus I will mail him a monthly bag of period blood." Wow! OK, breathe. Yes of course in its very nature it is meant to be provocative and shocking. For that end it works. But from a spiritual perspective is it really accomplishing the higher loftier goal that this poor pained woman is trying to achieve? I personally am not so sure. As grieved as I am by the "bad" behavior that this election season has brought forth and the true pain that many are feeling, I cannot help but come back to the same idea. Is the modality for channeling the pain, frustration and outrage the most productive one in achieving the very goal for which one is fighting?

All people experience fear. It may come in different colors, varying degrees and shades. We all face the age old existential dilemma and the very real concrete fear of death. As for this particular blog post, and in regards to the election, people are fearful on both sides, and rightly so, for good reason. We should fear returning to outdated modes of thinking that degrade and suppress a woman's power. We should be wary that if we let in hundreds of thousands of immigrants from societies that do not value the same values we do – e.g., women's rights, or freedom of speech – that there will be real repercussions.

Fear can be a productive catalyst to stand up for what one deems to be right and good. It can propel us to action to stand up for our deepest convictions and be an agent for change. I have friends in Paris who just weeks before the terrorist attacks were at the very restaurant that was hit. These same friends were planning a dinner out that evening and discussed this same restaurant with other friends of theirs (and mine) as a possible choice. Thankfully and perhaps a bit selfishly for me, they chose to eat elsewhere and remained in lockdown behind the closed bars until the wee hours of the morning. They were looking at social media on their phones, monitoring human butchering outside their door steps, for fear of leaving too hastily before the last acts were yet to be done.

I have another set of friends from Paris. They are a gay couple. A few years ago they bought a house in the Northern suburbs of Paris. They fixed up this house with their own hands, making it uniquely their own and turning the house into a home. Several years later this same gay couple told me they were moving. The neighborhood had become populated with people that did not value their secular French values of fraternity, liberty, and égalité. They were afraid for their lives, literally, and chose to move.

I come to see more and more, we are all fighting for the same values. We just prioritize what that means and how it plays out. Things like election season force us to choose between " the lesser of two evils" and so we reach down into the bellies of our core and find what speaks to us the most? How has my walk on this earth led me to the place I am now, why, and what does it all mean?

It just so happens that all of these same friends above would not favor shutting out immigrants, for fear of their own safety. Which is brave and noble indeed. As one friend above put it: "This is about civil rights, rule of law".

This recent Facebook post of this feminist’s tweet, and Calvin's reaction, stirred a discussion among men of varying views and opinions on the subject. Some were fighting for the life of the unborn child, others leaving the choice solely to the woman. The rhetoric from those who wanted this to be only a woman's choice said: “Stay out, this is not our place to say.” Another said: “I really don't know, but I trust that she does.” In other words, our opinion does not matter, for the woman has suffered and deserves to be "honored" at all costs, even if that cost means killing a child. Others chimed back: “No, these are human beings and they are being butchered, how can we make an arbitrary distinction about when it is OK to kill a human being, fine thirty seconds before birth, but not fine thirty seconds after?

Should we not honor our women by protecting them, and caring? Does not this very

language in this tweet say: “I have lost my way and am unable to be trusted?” (I will explain below). They are all valid points, albeit very different. They all care about their wives, sisters, daughters, and mothers.... a lot. These men are discussing civil rights and fighting for them in their own way. Women do not want to be shut down, and neither do men. It is a good and noble thing for a man to want to protect the life and well-being of his unborn child. We as women should not shut him up and down. It is also a good and noble thing for a man to trust a woman with her own freewill, and believe she will do what is right for her body and her life, in other words give her the benefit of the doubt and empower her to "fend for herself".

We live in society, a democracy with rules of law, everyone counts. I have one friend who is a true anarchist, but most people do believe and fight for rule of law. We all value our freewill, and well, we should – it is the gift that God has given us, not only to make choices in our secular daily walk, but also should we hear his call.

My response to this woman's post is one of frustration, and disappointment, and yes shock. In my view, we as women should not take that which is sacred, our own deep feminine nature and unique gifts and abilities as a woman and turn it into something vulgar to be used as a weapon against men who care. This is war, a war of ideologies. And in war we pull out all the stops, we are willing to die. We kill ourselves in order to attain what is deemed a loftier goal. Sometimes we kill ourselves just to be right.

I say let us stop the war and find peace. Let us confront our deepest darkest fears head

on. Let us listen to that small soft voice that whispers our truth, and call out our truths, and may those calls lead to right action. But let us follow Christ and cast out our fear with perfect love. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (I John 4.18)

Honor the inner, but honor the outer. Honor to All. Sacrificing one for the other is missing the mark, a literal translation of sin, and sin causes death, not life. If we are fighting for our lives, let us fight a battle that can actually be won, not one that is destined to fail at all costs. My pain, is your pain. Pain is pain. Civil rights are civil rights.

Let us not commit spiritual suicide. Let us not quench our deep inner thirsts with vinegar. Rather, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6.33)

The Lion and the Lamb

I have a longtime friend. I miss him right now. He is sweet and kind, gentle and funny. Oh sure, he has a witty side and can appreciate a bit of sarcasm and cynicism, but even in his sharpest sting, I feel his love and kindness. I miss him so much. I often think of him as one of the best Christians I know, although he is actually not a practicing Christian. Funny huh? But for me he displays the fruits of the spirit daily. I know he wrestles with darkness and pain, as we all do, but he does not bring his burdens to the world around him. Sometimes he is like one of those large puzzles – you are given a small puzzle piece of his inner being and he is sharing his pain, his struggle. But most times he is walking in joy. He shares his joy, and gives light to your struggles. He is a giver, not a taker; he is grateful when he’s given. He seeks to understand, not be understood; he seeks peace not conflict.

There were times in the past of this long and dear friendship where I have felt frustrated. I wanted more. I wanted to go deeper, dig to the bottom of the well of life and all its complexities. Till the soil of the nitty-gritty, get my hands full of mud and grit to then plant new seeds of understanding. But he would keep things simple and light, unwilling to join me in my digging. I used to think this was cowardice. Alas, time keeps passing and the years go by. The changing seasons have brought grey hairs, lined faces and saggy skin, and hopefully, just hopefully a little bit of wisdom too. I no longer see this unwillingness as cowardice. My eyes have grown weary and my sight has diminished.

At times when I have lost my humor, I feel frustrated that I need my glasses to read the directions on a pizza box. Grrr, argh... What petty annoyances. However, when I step into my older, wiser self, I find humor in the little incontinences (OK, that was actually a typo, but it is so funny I think I will keep it!). Yes, that too, childbearing is brutal. I mean, inconveniences, and now see my dear old friend as bravery and courage, but of a different kind. It takes a brave soldier, carrying their pack of personal trauma on their backs, to leave that for later, to trust that it will eventually be resolved at a later date. For now, the priority is to selflessly be there for the other. Trust in the unknown of a date or time, trust that all will be well. Now is the time to focus on the urgency to serve.

I know for a fact this friend received arrows in his life, not only from the outside world, but by his own nearest and dearest family and friends. He is exemplary of the courage of the lamb; he may be slaughtered, but he will not die. He is alive and well and doing his perfect work in the world.

Admittedly most of my other dear friends are lions. I love my lion friends because they too are brave and courageous as lions are; however, it is of another sort. They are also warm and nurturing. They may be lions, but they are also mamma bears. They have big hearts and are kings of the jungle. They are proud by nature, but this pride propels them into the world to fight for others. They will protect what they deem as right and true and rip to shreds the poor prey that walks in their path. Their hunger is righteousness, and they will pull out all the stops to achieve their lofty and noble goals. They too are soldiers, but of a different kind. They are the great protectors of mankind. I am still learning about my lion friends, and it has taken time to understand them also and their unique role and pride.

I was in a yoga class years ago, and the subject of ego came up from the teacher. She said the ego is a good thing. I had a moment of pause. Hmmm....I thought that the ego was a bad thing, that we were to aim to eradicate our ego for higher principles? Aren't we supposed to be egoless, enlightened beings? I am confused. She went on to explain that the ego propels us to do things, to accomplish things, and that is not a bad thing; it is there for a very real and good purpose. It is in the things that we do, propelled by our egos, that we learn and grow and ultimately walk through this life gaining the perspectives and wisdom that each of is here to gain. I think it has taken time to sink in, but I can today say: I get it.

As I look back and reflect on my life, I can see this to be so true. I thought at the time I was just doing this or that, perhaps following a desire, or a heart-led action of what I felt I wanted or "needed" to do at that time. Now I can see the bigger picture, I can see the greater purposes in the paths I walked and how they led me to the pearls of wisdom that I now possess. Hindsight is indeed twenty-twenty.

A powerful healer friend of mine told me that when we use phrases like "I need" that might be a clue that it is our ego speaking. So listen extra closely, our ego can and does indeed propel us to the things we are called to be and do. I would also say take heed to not bow down solely to our egos, for they can indeed lead us astray. There is a reason the ego gets a bad rap. It is a tightrope and a balancing act, or as our Lord says:

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Sometimes clarity comes in an instant, and sometimes it takes years and years. Sometimes it is there for an instant and then gone. Sometimes when we let go completely and trust, it stays and seems effortless. I have an aria that I have been working on by Mozart for almost twenty years, yeah no lie. It's been said that Mozart did not like women. Anyone who knows his music knows his cunning sense of humor. It is said that when he had a particularly proud diva, he would purposely write near impossible, yet exquisitely beautiful pieces for them to sing. In my own experience with this particular aria, this has been my experience. I have turned this piece into more of a vocal exercise, but every now and again I pull it out and am on occasion asked to sing it. It brings up all my fears and worst vocal enemies, but I also love it deeply. I have nailed this piece maybe a couple of times when all the stars aligned. It demands extreme focus, steadiness of breath, depth of emotion, without going over the top – and for me, a great, great deal of trust and letting go. I try not to get discouraged. Even a world renowned musician who works with the very top singers in the world has said that he has heard it crash and burn at the Bastille (one of the best opera houses in the world). He then adds the added pressure of saying that I have the right voice and tools to do it perfectly. It is a hit or miss aria, a tightrope to be sure. Mozart may have been many things, but no one can argue his musical genius. Within his genius I continue to find more pearls of wisdom.

The lion and the lamb, two very different approaches, both valuable and wise. I think I have grown in understanding about the meaning of the lion and the lamb and their lying down in peace someday. This is in part by my dear friends and for them I am ever grateful.

The World's Gone Mad Part 3

The book of Revelation in the Bible is a bit of a mystery to most who are familiar with it and probably unfamiliar to many. I took a Bible study on Revelation a couple years ago. It is filled with vivid imagery of the "end times" when all humanity comes face to face with the great Creator and Lord of life. He is here to judge and make right all that is wrong. There will be a new world, and it will be glorious. But, the reckoning is intense and scary. Some might liken it to a "bad acid trip".

Some people view the Bible literally and some metaphorically. The Bible as a whole is designed to operate in different ways. Some parts are historical, some metaphorical, some allegorical, and some parts, "the voice of the people from time immemorial." The Psalms, in particular, speak to the deep realm and spectrum of emotions and human experience.

For me whether you take the bible literally or metaphorically is really a moot point. Let me explain. From a Yogic perspective our inner world shapes our outer world. In other words, our own perspective shapes our reality. As our perspective begins to broaden, so does our understanding of the events around us. In my opinion our feelings are a mere key to inform us of our own perspective. Our feelings can shape our thoughts, and our thoughts create our reality. What we think matters – a lot. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This is warning not only to our words and actions, but taking it down to the core, changing not just the outer man, but the deep, deep inner man. This is one of the reasons I reject the notion (from part one of this blog series) that our feelings are of supreme importance and deserve to dictate at all costs. I think it is a step in the wrong direction, a diving into sickness at all costs – all the while justifying the decent all the way down the rabbit hole.

Think Dante's Inferno. Allow me to clarify. Feelings are important, they inform. We should honor them as the sacred messengers who are informing us of our own deepest prejudices, wounds, and places where we are "stuck". Should we stifle them, repress them, shut them down, and up, just move on? Of course not. Should we wallow in them, make them the only thing that really matters, allow them to dictate our truth and shape reality? No, of course not. “There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” In other words, acknowledge them, honor them, explore them for the end goal of moving on and through. Everybody has their journey in this thing called life.

I cannot answer the questions of why I am " white privilege" and do not deal with the plight of racism. Whether a person of color experiences "real" or perceived racism, the feelings of pain are the same. I do not need to try to enter into their deep well of experience and convince them that what they feel is only a perception and not reality as they feel it. It is not my "job". My "job" on this planet as a spiritual being is to be a human being and show them empathy, kindness, compassion and ultimately love. This is what our Lord Christ taught as Truth incarnate, as well as a human being.

Getting closer to being walking Truth makes us more human, not less. If this same person comes to me asking for my perspective, I might step into one of the many roles I play in this walk called life (a friend, a teacher, a nurturing mother, a sister, etc.) and show them my perspective on the situation. Perhaps, if it is the right time, and place and situation, this wounded soul will be able to open a window to a new reality that is broader and kinder, a healing balm. It may well be that the situation they confronted is "true racism". There are “people that walk in darkness", like those who are racist from their own deep fallenness, But for the person who is confronting that, when their own inner wound has been healed and they know on a cellular level that they are not less than, these things will not affect them, or at least in the same way as before. It will no longer be putting salt on a wound, but rather a more tempered and legitimate, manageable reaction. Their core will not kick into panic in "fight or flight mode", but rather they will hear, see, and experience the situation much more objectively because they know the Truth. They may feel sadness for the fallen man, or man's darkness. After all, Christ sweat tears of blood in the garden of Gethsemane and experienced great sorrow for the state of mankind. This is part of the human experience, but he "did not take it personally".

So it all comes back to the basic question: Is there such a thing as objective reality or Truth? And if so, how can we embrace that objective reality and not fall into the trap of being convinced that our subjective perceptions are reality as it is. For me the answer lies in coming back daily to that objective Truth and then measuring that against what is felt and perceived. I was at a heart opening conference at the Himalayan Institute a couple years ago. We were handed out a sheet with some texts from the Ancient Indian scriptures (the Bhagavad Gita) as well as some quotes from the Bible. We started as a group to "work through" these texts, and there were especially strong rejection reactions when we came to Isaiah 45: 6-7: “There is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.” This was followed on the page by Augustine’s interpretation:

All that happens to us in this world against our will (whether due to me or to other causes) happens to us only by the will of God, by the disposal of Providence, by His orders and under His guidance; and if from frailty of our understanding we cannot grasp the reason for some event, let us attribute it to divine Providence, show Him respect by accepting it from His hand, and believe firmly that He does not send it to us without cause.

“All that happens…” People were mad, even hostile. Some of the responses were: "That sounds just like the fundamentalist garbage I grew up with", "What about the poor, the needy the sick, the wars, the list goes on and on....????" Our master responded calmly. And being a master the tone and sea of emotions were calmed in an instant. He responded empathetically (hint hint) and said these are such noble pursuits and feelings (being concerned, wanting to change these situations) and softly went on.

I went to another conference at the institute where Swami Rama was teaching from a video (which had been taken before his death). He spoke about the book of Revelation. From his great wisdom and Yogic perspective, this is an inner experience that one has when they are able to pass from the depths of their fallenness into the fullness of Christ (he did not use those exact words, but that is my understanding) – when the last bit of Maya (illusion, darkness) has the light of Truth shined in its face.

Now weeks after the election people are still spinning. As I have heard so many times from different people, PC has gone out the window. For so very many salt is being poured on people's deep wounding. The fallen nature has reared its darkness and "it ain't pretty".

What I do know to be my personal truth and present perception is that this is not in the end about whether Donald Trump or HRC is president, but rather that there is a much greater plan at work by our Creator that will play out as it is meant to play out.

I had a conversation a few years back when I was in Yoga teacher training with my teacher of that course. I explained my own existential dilemma about my "role" in life. I have followed my heart and have been an artist, a mother, a teacher, a yogi, but are these my true calling? Should I be doing more for the state of humanity? Is there something bigger, something better that I should try to do and be? Her answer to me was so simple and so very helpful. She said your job is to do your daily practice. I can tell you, this changed my life and lined up the order of importance of my being.

Come to the Lord daily, consistently with seeking and He will guide your path. "Seek and ye shall find.” I did not have to suffer endless hours of questioning, tugging back and forth with this and that. Most times we over-complicate things so much. Being simple can seem to be so very complex. Time to follow the Nike slogan and "Just do it." What a burden lifted off my shoulders that I was carrying, when it needed only to be handed over to Him. I do not have to figure it all out, just like I do not have to be the moral judge of the world. That is his job, and he does it perfectly. The world we look at might not always seem so, but look very closely: Is that Him, or is that fallen man?

Come back to nature and see his perfect creation, and beauty. The Creator creates out of love, for that is his very nature. So "be ye therefore perfect even as the Father". Be love, be empathy, be compassion. Discard your fallen nature, gently, and embrace your divine nature daily. The end.

The World's Gone Made Part 2: The Shattering of the Glass Ceiling

Calvin came home from work the other day and told me about a colleague who "cannot do Thanksgiving" this year because of the election. Daily he comes home and tells me about the latest conversation, the varying topics that now divide her and her family. It was her husband who first brought up the notion that her parents "likely voted for Trump", and with a bit of probing the suggestion was made truth, and her world began to shatter.

Another friend of mine, a singer at church, told me on Sunday that he "cannot do Thanksgiving" this year. He was having a conversation with his parents: his daughters are crying, they are torn, but cannot be with grandparents who voted for Trump. A father's heart breaks; this year, they are a family in mourning and disarray.

The ceiling has been broken, but not in the way we thought. The ceiling of limited thinking has been pried open, and people are being forced into trying to understand the un-understandable – and it hurts. I have experienced my own deep pain, not only for the true sorrow of others’ pain and sadness that I feel in various shades, but also by some of my personal, deep wounds that were wrenched to the surface. When I tried to share my personal wounds, I was hit with a backlash of criticism, name calling, and judgment.

How can standing up for all women, saying I reject the outdated rhetoric that shames and blames women without even thinking garner so much hostility? I am baffled...truly. I used an article which resonated with what I had been feeling. Basically, you can reject what you believe Trump stands for without feeling the need to denigrate a woman to justify your stance.

Is this a defense of Melania Trump? No. Do I think that Melania's pictures, particularly the very sexualized ones, are a good model for young women? Do they represent sacred sexuality? Do they conform to many scriptures that advise a certain bodily purity? Of course not. Do I ideally think that this is good for the spirit and going to help produce fruits of the spirit? Most likely not. Many would argue that this kind of exploitation helps to destroy the spirit. Texts dating from thousands of years, from sages to the Bible, would perhaps confirm that. Am I here with such high arrogance and intelligence to dismiss these sacred texts? Absolutely not. In fact, I aim to the best of my ability to not only follow these very scriptures but to truly honor them.

On the other hand, am I the Creator of the universe, here to judge all of mankind? Thankfully not. For He is so much greater and bigger than any of this. I would also add much kinder and so, so, so, much more forgiving. I know, for I sit in his presence at times and feel his grace penetrate the depths of my being. That little girl inside was once told she was too fat, which then turned into not-good-enough, which got piled on with not-smart-enough, not-nice-enough, not-patient-enough. Enough, enough, enough! My mind is spinning. Don't worry, I can take control of this situation, I have got it. I will prove them wrong. I will be thinner; then I will be enough. I will be better than him or her, I will do and make and be, and, and, and… I am so very tired.

Then I sit with him again, basked in his perfect love, and he says: "Silly child, come rest with me, all is forgiven. In fact, there really was nothing to forgive, you have come to me and I embrace you fully just as you are.”

I read my feed again. What is so hard to understand about not blaming and shaming ALL women? I want to scream: “Why don't you get it?” The same way perhaps others of color or a certain religion are screaming: “Why can't you get it?” I want to say, “I do get it.” Yes, my pain is different than your pain. My walk in this world is not your walk in this world, but pain is pain, is pain. Where is the empathy, where is the compassion?

The shard of glass dug deeper into my already bleeding heart. Does anyone remember Mary Magdalene? Hmm, interesting thought. Melania Trump has become the archetype of the female prostitute, and people are eating it up. They have gone from insulting her mildly to holding up signs that now say: "Rape Melania". Is this the 2016 election, or is this some bad medieval dream? Again people, not about Melania Trump; this is about honoring the sacred feminine. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

People are in pain from the daggers of glass, forcing us to examine our darkest thoughts and deepest wounds. Some people fear it is the end times. An acquaintance came up to me at church, someone I know (just a little). She said, “Come here”, and gave me a hug. "I see people being ugly to you, and I just want you to know I am here for you." My eyes well up. Kindness and love bring forth the well of tears that heal the soul.

Let us be healed with His sweet and perfect water that we may thirst no more. Let us meet the Samaritan woman at the well, not with judgment and condemnation but with empathy, understanding, and perhaps with a bit of extra effort – forgiveness. And may we truly find hope.

The World's Gone Mad (Part

So the election is over and the US of A has been turned on its head. We all thought Hillary would win, which really was not even a question. Time Magazine had a beautiful cover of Madam President ready for press. The inauguration party was planned; I saw an invitation on Facebook. Kaboom! Not so fast! And then the world went mad. “How could this possibly be?”, cried some 55 million people (plus some 200 thousand more people than the total Trump supporters).

Reality is not what we thought it was. People are shocked, amazed and in total turmoil and chaos. Yoga speaks about an inner world and an outer world. Ideally, we are not to be controlled and dominated by the outer world. One works daily through prayer and meditation to gain a steadier inner world. However, today's outer world tells us the opposite. It says the outer world rocks and controls us, sends us into a frenzy. It stirs our emotions which are put in the forefront, and our emotions dictate reality. It is a collective neurosis, and personal responsibility has gone out the window. Everyone but me is responsible, not only for how I feel, but also responsible to make it better. Universities have cancelled exams and created even more safe spaces, with chocolate, crayons and puppy hugging. Seriously? It sounds like preschool and would be rightly appropriate for preschool.

We send our little ones out into the world for the very first time from the safe space of mommy’s and daddy's home. We want them to feel comforted and alleviated of their fears. But college campuses? Isn't this the very last stop on their way out of mommy’s and daddy's home? Isn't this where they are to have heated discussions, the free exchange of ideas and then be ready to face the big bad world? Believe you me, it is indeed a big bad world out there, painfully so at times. Look at our dear mother nature and how fierce she can be. I can assure you, human nature is not much softer at times (you need only scroll down my Facebook feed). My homosexual, Buddhist friend is posting a particularly provocative nude picture of Melania Trump. He calls her a SLUT in capital letters! Really? I cannot believe my eyes, and my heart feels just even more heavy. Are not major tenets of your religion compassion and empathy? Now you, who so detest those who morally judge your lifestyle, feel so free to do so to Melania? She is a woman who has been given the gift of physical beauty, and who am I to say she should not use that gift to gain power and financial gains in the world? Do I think women's power resides solely in her beauty? Very obviously not, but it is indeed a power that women have, along with intelligence and skills they can develop.

Since when did the liberal, tolerant, left become so incredibly intolerant? What happened to "love trumps hate" now? Another friend says that she has come to understand what happened as follows: 55 million people who voted for Trump are infected with a disease that in due season will take its course and be revitalized into something fresh, new, and good, kind of like the changing of seasons in nature. Another goes to the oft-repeated rhetoric that 55 million people are racist, bigots, homophobic and xenophobic. Neither of these friends mentioned the 55 million number, but I do because I think it is important. One, because it is a huge number, and two because how can you possibly simplify 55 million people into a few epithets or one pseudo-science diagnosis?

Anyone who is close with a family member or one long-term friend can attest to how understanding another human being fully is a really, really complex, multi-layered, multi-faceted task. So without being insensitive to anyone's pain, can we all grow up and act like responsible adults here and try to wrap our mind around what is really going on?

I, for one, although truly disheartened by hate (on any side) am absolutely fascinated by some of the more productive dialogue going on. I have been gaining perspective into worlds I know nothing about. One article was written by a single mother, Muslim immigrant. She explained that she felt unsafe in the current administration, having escaped horrible oppression herself in her homeland and seeing it come to America. She wanted Islamic terrorists to be called out by name and be reassured that she would not be faced with the very things she aimed to flee. She also had some disappointing issues with her Obamacare, and in the end it became too expensive to continue. So very interesting, who would have "thunk" it? Another show on NPR talked about how the democratic party's "identity politics" failed them. Women spoke out about how they felt insulted that it was assumed they would vote for a woman just because she’s a woman. These women want to be treated as full-thinking, feeling individuals, not reduced down to a statistic because of their gender.

Such informative and interesting conversations, but also how nice. How nice that people are indeed not so simplistic that we can figure them out by some hypothetical statistic based on gender, or race, or even religion. Can we not rejoice in the complexity and mystery of the human spirit and stop labeling and going to war with those we don’t understand at first glance? Or is that too scary a space? Is it a safer space to rest within our small world, convicted of our own rightness? The other 55 million plus is just a label, and ultimately the enemy, baffling as that may be.

I saw on Facebook a video of Donald Trump from many years ago, various interviews where he spoke of his love for this country. He was calm, quiet-spirited and sincere. It was lovely to see him speak from his heart long before political campaigns. I find extremely appealing the old footage of Hillary Clinton when she was fresh out of college. There she seems so bright and vibrant, ready to change the world – so lovely to see, before the political campaigns. I saw an old footage of Bernie Sanders.  He was young and handsome and looked so sensitive and vulnerable. He spoke of human beings. He was expressing how we are all intimately connected and affect each other in powerful ways, ways we cannot fully comprehend. It was beautiful and moving, so long before the campaigns. I think often on that Bernie Sanders video, and it reminds me of great music that seems to penetrate to the depth of our souls – no barrier of skin, flesh and bones.

I think about times when I have felt particularly down and vulnerable and the very powerful effect that can be made by one who loves and supports you, who comes in and sits in your presence. Sometimes a word or even a touch begins to diminish that power. But when someone is just there – no agenda to make better, just there, present with you – something magical happens, something deep and penetrating and unexplainable in words, but worth a million in feeling.