Minneapolis has had its longest growing season ever this year. With more than 210 days since its last frost, we have enjoyed the longest "summer" every and an absolutely amazing fall. The colors have been amazing and some leaves are still hanging on. Honestly a few are just now turning! Flowers have endured as well--the photo of the daisies was taken yesterday. The average date of the first frost is almost always before October 1st but we have yet to have a freeze in Minneapolis. It is funny, but the stout Norwegian stock around here is worried about this. Certainly we will have to pay later for all this pleasure, won't we? Really, let's feel guilty about warmth and sunshine in November. Can't have too much fun, can we?
I, on the other hand, think that we deserve this for enduring the longest election season ever. I figure about 18 months of pure negative energy. I, like others I know, am sapped of energy just from all those negative ads and memes and and and. Added to that was my involvement in all of this--I donated I helped I watched I argued and kept up with all of this at some cost to myself. Engagement is good and I generally recommend it, but it can be expensive and I think that we got the bill for this early Wednesday morning. I am spent.
To say that the election did not go the way that 51% of all voters wanted it to (thanks Electoral College!) would be somewhat of an understatement. My FB feed and in box was filled with statements of "Oh no!" and questions of "what do we do??!!" That question in particular has plagued me and millions of others these past few days. Indeed, what do we do?
Few of us can leave, and let's be honest. Have you been to Canada in January? Have you seen all the bugs/spiders/snakes/animals/sharks that can kill you in Australia? Besides, I doubt that they are really looking and hoping for American refugees. It is tempting, though, to think about it. The Canadian Prime Minister is at least is not a color that doesn't appear in nature.
I am scared, and I think I am not the only person who is somewhere on the scared spectrum, from mild "I wonder how that will work" to closer to scared poop-less. And I do believe that we all should be somewhere on that spectrum.
But it simply cannot let it dominate our hearts and minds. I have thought a lot about what would help me cope and I have some ideas, and I do welcome any other ideas that people can or will share. Below are my coping mechanisms.
1. I will continue to be an American citizen, a responsible American citizen, and be engaged in the process, even when at the end the day I carry a faint "odour" from the process. Being an American is sometimes messy and smelly so we can see the good things that grow from all the hard work.
2. I will remember that this country has endured more than 240 years with good and bad captains at the helm. I mean it when I say that there have been some really really bad captains! The historian in me knows this and rather than focus on one challenging instance of leadership, I will focus on the long term potential and strengths of the process and indeed, the overall success of this country and its people. We will get through this.
3. I will try and remember what I learned even before second grade: Be nice to one another. Listen to one another. Share. Don't yell. Find a friend. Help each other. If you fight, fight fair, and forgive even more easily. Enjoy nap time. Listen to the teacher but ask questions. Go to bed early. Sing, even if you can't do it all that well. Find time for recess. Read books, not comics.
4. I will do more of some things. I will be an artist even if my art won't make it on most people's fridge. I will listen to more music. I will explore more, even it is just my neighborhood or at local restaurants. I will read more books, and some might be even not just on a Kindle. I will read and write more (bad) poetry. I will buy more flowers and burn more candles, just because. I will try my best to keep an open mind but more importantly, to help those as I can who might be even more scared or are being left behind as we move through this transition.
5. I will be doing less of some things. I want to keep engaged but I don't always need the news on or my news alerts turned up quite so high on my phone or computer. Since I will be so busy doing all the things in point four, I will not have time to focus on the news cycle.
6. I will try and remember that politics and change is ultimately local. Trump has to change the course of a huge ship, and he doesn't have all the controls nor does he know what he is doing. My local "ship" is a rowboat. I can make a difference and I can foster change and progress that really can positively affect people. And hopefully, in this local process, this less smelly local process, the idea of change will catch on.
I am guardedly optimistic. If previous idiot presidents have not ruined this country, I can only hope that this one won't either, We all got to vote in an historic election and we all have to endure and persevere the next few years. I am certainly not saying it will be easy or fun no matter which side of the aisle you were supporting. But perspective gives me hope, as does the absolute belief that more than 51% of the people care more about the people they encounter everyday than the slogans or memes that drove this election.
I hope.
The photos are clean up photos from the past few weeks. Click to make them larger.
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