vig·il
ˈvijəl/
noun
- 1.a period of keeping awake during the time usually spent asleep, especially to keep watch or pray.
Tonight our family went to a vigil. We came together as a large community in order to find some comfort at a time of great and deep sorrow. Likeminded people together, completely and utterly devastated as we see our country swing into an entirely new direction - one that gives free reign to hatred.
This week Donald Trump won the election.
Shock has rolled through my body, my family, my community. It has spread across the nation and rippled around the world. I am deeply heartbroken. The insanity of this is that so many people do not see the implications of this win. They do not understand what it means to remove the lid from Pandora's box.
I have been wrecked by this news. I have seen my core and guiding value of kindness evaporate into thin air. Poof. The morality and ethics of a nation lost. In the days following the election I have heard more examples of hatred and bigotry than I can absorb. I have witnessed cruel and mean words spoken, even by members of my own family. I am reminded of how hateful people can be. And I am heartbroken.
I am not ready to leave this moment of mourning. I believe there is a potency and magic to this feeling - an alchemy that needs time to incubate so that change can occur. So I am stuck here, unable to move forward with the strength, hope, and conviction I long for. I need to know again that kindness does matter. That choosing love is more powerful than hate. That curiosity and wonder is the manner in which we approach our differences. But, today I am rooted in grief.
As I write this, I can see that it is my deepest hope that grace will be known. Known by our president elect, by his supporters, his prodigies that spew hate. May they open their eyes and hearts to the madness that has been allowed free reign, and begin to act with great love.
It is time for us to keep vigil. We must all keep awake now - keep watch for the sake of our children, our loved ones, our neighbors, our friends. Keep awake for the sake of refugees, black Americans, muslims, and gays. Keep awake for the most vulnerable among us. Keep awake for our own chances to act with grace and dignity and kindness.
I have written this blog for more than eleven years now ~this blog of my life with boys. Not ever, not even once does anything I have ever written come close to the emotion and power of how I feel today. It is my greatest hope that I can continue to teach my children to choose kindness, to choose love, to find the power to say no to hatred and to act with grace. It is my greatest hope that I can provide my children with the strength and conviction that they will need to serve this world. This world that is here for every single one of us. It is our collective responsibility to work towards this every chance we get.
May we be graced with this strength.
May we be graced with this strength.
grace
ɡrās/
noun
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