While sipping on my pumpkin spice coffee this morning, listening to the political rehash of yesterday’s “unprecedented” tweet of the day, I had this interesting realization. Seriously, there is no amount of caffeine that can overcome the exhaustion I am experiencing from trying to stay politically involved and informed. Every day we are all pummeled by a barrage of negativity, polarization and divisive attacks on the proverbial “they” and “them” from the “we like me.”
Anyone else experiencing this? Even when you want to detach and try to look away from the political circus – somehow they (as in he) find a way to draw you back into the arena. “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have a truly unprecedented act coming to you live from the oval office, the likes of which no one has ever seen or heard before! May I direct your attention to the high-wire act above featuring the latest POTUS appointee to walk a fine line with a huge tax-payer funded net below – and NO you didn’t see an elephant in ring two, definitely not one in the room.” I am finding it all to be so taxing on my peace-seeking, life-loving soul. But yet, like a moth to a flame, I find myself tuning in to see what crazy thing happened today (a problem I’m still working on.)
Epiphany! What a crazy contrast to what I experienced over the 8 years of the previous administration. Honestly, I probably had maybe a total of 10 political conversations over Obama’s whole 8 years. And out of those ten, maybe two that actually sparked an emotionally fueled debate. “Obama is secretly a Muslim and wasn’t born here . . .” You know – that kind of debate.
What was so different then? Was I just less interested? Not engaged? Honestly, I don’t think so.
I was just busy living my life and because I was always interested in politics – I would watch the State of the Union address and occasionally listen to the Sunday morning talking heads. But rarely did any trending topic find its way into my daily interactions with people, friends or family. As in, “Oh my God, did you hear what Obama said today to one of our allies?” Nope. That discussion never happened.
In my opinion, this is why. Whether you loved or hated him, this is the truth. Obama cared more about his vision for the country than your vision about him. He didn’t insert himself into our daily lives by insisting we pay attention to his every thought. He didn’t hold our emotions hostage. Whether you agreed with his political decisions or not – he didn’t make you the enemy for simply seeing the world through a different lens. He didn’t tell you he was the absolute best at everything while labeling his competitors with demeaning nicknames, and I could go on and on with the contrast of leadership styles between 44 and 45.
So what was I doing, thinking and feeling over the 8 years of 44? I was joyfully investing in what I value the most in life – supporting and loving my best friend and husband. Nurturing and connecting with my children, friends and family. I was feeling uplifted and optimistic about the future, I was thinking how very cool it was that my children were traveling around the world and experiencing so many different cultures and learning how to engage people of all ages and stages of life. I was embracing the beauty of freedom, loving the melting pot of diversity and daily embracing gratitude for all of these things – not surprisingly, so were the occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
If you can, set all political thoughts aside for one moment and consider the following; what you and I and every other American were ‘privy to’ and ‘blessed by’ for those eight years was the optic of a strong family unit – a husband who adored his wife and treasured her for her strength and resilience, a wife who loved her husband and fully believed in him; his character, his vision, his love for all people from all walks of life. Year after year we watched these two people be giddy with affection for each other. We watched them love, laugh and play with their daughters and their family dog, Bo. We saw tremendous respect and gratitude showered on Michele’s mom, for her matriarchal wisdom, leadership and love. And all of this made us feel good, they made us want to love more and live better, plant a garden and exercise more, laugh a lot and shoot some hoops with our friends, hold hands and smooch on the kiss cam.
So now I fully understand why the atmosphere is completely different today – because what was best about those eight years had absolutely nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with decency, love, hope and family – the real American values that lift all of us up, infuse us with positive energy and encourage us to live our best life.
I am going to hold that vision and truth in my heart and just say NO to the circus! Please feel free to join me.
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
