“…but it’s all empty”

Back to reality. While we may attempt to seek our own understanding of the world, today (12/19/2016) marks the official United States of America, electoral collect vote for Donald Trump as our next President of the United States.

Regardless of what side of the fence you’re on (or on top of), what’s done is done; however, our internal conflict will continue on.

Conflict is Necessary

Conflict is that feeling you get inside when your chest gets tight and you experience discomfort. During this election, we imagined conflict to be between our so-called tribes we formed behind our primary candidates: Clinton and Trump. One was meant to fight against the other, and ultimately there would be a winner in the end. But we’ve consistently gone through this process, even during our previous party elections. But in order to move forward, we had to open our ears and listen to the conflict from the other side.

What is the other side?

Well, in the examples above it could be the other side of the tribe (Clinton vs Trump) or it could be the discomfort you felt vs the comfort (or lack of discomfort) you had when your own boundaries had been pushed. Democracy is meant to suggest that we have choice, but there is always that struggle to get to a point of balance. You never get your way fully, right from the start. There is no binary choice; right versus wrong; good versus evil. Those are all judgements and projections that come from you, based on your experiences (karma).

What do we do next?

If your conflict feels so great that you cannot move on, then that firmly is a boundary, which may need more investigation. “Search your feelings,” Yoda says, and bring awareness to what is at the root of your conflict. Do you not feel safe? Do you not feel heard? Do you not feel respected? …the list goes on – then ask yourself, if other people may have similar feelings, but in different scenarios. The hardest thing to do is to empathize when you (personally) aren’t experiencing these things, or even when you do feel a certain way, but your mind is saying that you “should” be feeling something different.

Once you have a greater understanding of why you are in conflict, you can decide if it is worth taking action or not taking action regarding the conflict. Both are choices.

Considering the election, if you feel so strongly about the conflict, then it is up to you to focus your energy (prana) in a direction with which you can use your voice and your own experiences to educate those around you regarding civil equanimity. You must also keep in mind that people who are currently not empathizing with you will not likely be able to hold any space for your own conflict. You can educate yourself around civil process and also learn how to push system boundaries without causing harm to yourself or others. Our job then, is to wield compassion and teach compassion, so that one day our community is able to more easily hold space for one another.

Let there be conflict – For without conflict there would be fewer opportunities for compassion.