Loving Kindness

I woke up this morning deeply saddened by the outcome of the election. I asked myself and others a lot of questions. How could this happen? Do we really live in that big of a bubble? What do we tell Sofia?  Is he really that bad?  What do we do next? 

I turned to a few coping mechanisms that have helped me through tough times in the past and I wanted to share them with you in hopes that they will provide some comfort and healing as we tread through this uncharted territory.

First, I decided to hold my favorite mantra/verse close today: "Do not fear, only believe." - Mark 5:36

Then I pulled out my watercolors to do the above painting. Brushing color across the blank page was calming. 

I dressed in my brightest clothes to take Sofia to school - to cheer myself and others up. Color heals. 

I watched Hillary's concession speech - which was beautiful, strong and emotional. 

In between all of this, I cried, I talked and texted with like-minded friends, I cried some more. 

Then I did this guided Loving Kindness meditation - which helped a lot. I even held up Donald Trump in my meditation and decided if love trumps hate then I cannot hate Donald Trump. I felt an amazing sense of calm and relief after meditating. I highly recommend it!

And then I decided to go on a media/social media diet. At this point I feel like both sides are propagating fear and I need to find answers and peace in other ways. 

I hope one or more of these ideas resonates with you. 

How are you creating peace with the outcome of the election?