words of hope from the wisest woman i know

When I rose yesterday morning and discovered the results of the presidential election, I was in shock and was awash in sadness for this country I so love.
The old white men had turned out in droves to elect one of their own.
As a country, we have taken a giant step backward, just as we did when Ronald Reagan was elected.
Even the rest of this world we live in will suffer.

My dear friend, the indomitable JinHi, has shared her sanity on facebook.
She has restored my hope for a better day.
Here's hoping her words will salve your ache, too.

JinHi Soucy Rand
November 9 at 1:22pm · Savannah ·

Last night at dinner as friends were periodically checking their phones for early election results, I felt a calm. It had occurred to me that I am a person who has grown accustomed to waiting for Biopsy results, and then dealing with whatever those results may be. Either way the election was going to go, we were about to discover in some historic way who we are as a whole, and where the hurt is that most needs to be addressed.

We are struggling. And in times of struggle as well as times of grave personal illness, turn to your friends, families and neighbors and start repairing there and use that strength to carry on and continue to recover. Sometimes things can get pretty bleak before the healing begins. You have to address your overall health, our overall health, and not just the symptoms. Once there are undeniable symptoms, the illness has spread. The election results, and the fear and disappointments that have been confused for hate, are the symptoms not the whole of each individual that voted.

Just as I know that my cancer cells are still my cells, still my body. I have learned to claim them with a little bit of compassion, understanding that anything I do to them, I do to all of me. I ask that you consider our country and fellow citizens this way. I can't go after my cells with more rage and poison than my body and soul can handle.

Be kind to us. Be kind to each other. There is so much love, so much progress, and we can overcome anything. Maybe not in our lifetimes, but that's not our job. Our job is to use our time to keep progress moving forward. It can't happen without taking a really hard look at ourselves and acknowledging that we took our health for granted.

There are so many ways to get involved and so many amazing people who know how to organize and utilize all of your strengths. Reach out and lend a hand or hold mine. We've got this.

<3

We've got this, together.