Untying the threads of the past eight years is overwhelming for many of us. During this time, many of us have been waiting for something new. We have become complacent, numbed out, angry. It is hard to even begin to imagine reconciling with the previous administration of the United States. Michael McCullough, professor at the University of Miami in the Departments of Psychology and Religious Studies and the author of The Forgiveness Instinct, tells us that “Forgiveness is a brawny, muscular exercise that”, he sees, “someone with a great passion for life and a great hearty sort of disposition being able to take on. It is essential to our geopolitical future, as well as to the health of our individual lives. The doors are open now for the use of this kind of language in the public sphere.”42 The ego has been running the show in our culture for quite some time. We are like hungry ghosts, nothing is ever enough, which is why many of us live with addiction. To speak the language of forgiveness has been considered naive and weak by many. It is just too atrocious, the atrocities committed by this administration, we must hold our ground. We must grow in numbers and speak our angry truth. It is difficult in the face of the ego, who craves power, separation and an identified “me”, and is never satisfied, to even hope for the rise of the subtle Feminine, who is much more about the circle, than about drawing lines. The paradox is that true power is birthed from vulnerability, from open space, not from clinging to and defending our opinions, and dominating someone else. This requires big acts of faith. It requires showing up and emptying ourselves of knowing, in a culture where knowledge is power. To know is very important. We have an entire data-driven educational system based on this. It is what we teach our children. Knowledge is power, and when it is not rooted in the heart, it is untransformed power, often leading to domination. We only need to look to the foreign policy of the United States to see this. The heart knows only what is needed in that moment.  And like Michael McCullough tells us, it is time for this language of Love to be spoken.

There have been endless atrocities committed in the past eight years and many years prior by this country that we call home; far too many to go into here. But, we cannot ignore the current war in Iraq. It is misguided, to say the least. People have been dying in the Middle East by our hands for ages. And much of it has been at the hands of the Bush family43,  and the mission in this region of the world, has it’s roots in greed and fear. We see returning soldiers who are uncared for44 ; physically, mentally and spiritually. We see families who are losing loved ones by the day. Millions of Iraqi’s are dead and many are traumatized beyond belief. They have been starving, and not tended to medically for years, due to the wars, attacks and economic sanctions placed on their country by the United States. Our military forces are stationed all over this planet and in space, exerting a dominating presence.45  In an article by Molly Ivans, social activist and journalist, she said, “Look, it’s really very simple, the single greatest threat to the national security of the United States is the rapidly deteriorating global environment.”46  And the actions of this country have contributed largely to that.

And, what about our domestic challenges here? We ignore our elderly, and our children go unnoticed, both in the educational systems, and in the social systems created to protect these children. Teachers and social service employees are overworked, undervalued and underpaid. Celebrities earn exponentially more money than anyone who provides care for others in this country. And finally, we are in a financial crisis of enormous magnitude. And, this is just the tip of the iceberg. And, now, many in our nation are pointing the finger straight at George W. Bush. With good reason. And many are looking to our newly elected President, Barrack Obama, to save this nation from itself. And in his Victory Speech this past November in Chicago at Grant Park, President Obama said, in so many words, I need your help, my fellow Americans.

How do we help Obama? Where do we go from here? We head straight to our mirrors. And we walk right into our little internal corners of chaos and we get uncomfortable. And we ask ourselves the hard questions. How do I over consume? What am I addicted to? Who and what do I ignore in my community, in our world?  How has my heart been hardened by living in a culture that values a nice pair of shoes over the creative power of our souls? Who do I serve? And to whom do I belong? We cannot do it alone, anymore. Ultimately, when the questions are asked, however we need to ask them and answer them, can we forgive ourselves for our part in this madness? Can we forgive ourselves for staying silent when we needed to speak? Can we forgive ourselves for speaking out of anger, rather than compassion? Can we forgive ourselves for consuming in ways that hurt others? Can we forgive ourselves for ignoring those in need, even if that means ourselves? Can we reconcile with the darkness? Or will we point our fingers away from ourselves? Will we take sides? And in our busy, distracted way of living in this country, can we create the space needed for grace to work in our lives? We need grace. And we need it now. And it wants to meet us, but we must stand still for just a few minutes. A little solitude, and a little self reflection on our parts, as subtle as it seems, would help the incoming administration in massive ways. That’s just how the Feminine is. She wants to help us. But, it begins with us. We just need to make some time for Her.

I do not want to point the finger anymore. I do not want to live in the security of labeling myself; liberal, progressive, Democrat. I don’t want to be the one who “gets it”, and point the finger at those over there, who don’t. I do not want to be self righteous anymore. I want to stay close to God in times like these. I need a lot of grace and a lot of love in this act of being human. I tried to be perfect for a very long time until I realized it really was not necessary. We are loved regardless. And, our creativity is  needed so desperately on this planet. It is service, not passivity, that will come from the space of forgiving ourselves. It is through our weakness and our humility that God is able to work through us. We are much more pliable, surrendered.  Parker Palmer speaks of this surrender, saying, “Social action requires power, but whenever we humans come close to power, trouble often follows. We think we want power as a means to other ends, but holding power tends to become an end in itself. We think we want power to work for the common good, but are tempted to use it for purposes of self-promotion and self-enhancement. Not only do these tendencies deflect our action from its original aims, they often lead to acts that are simply counterproductive. Taoism thus serves to criticize and clarify our action; Chuang Tzu wants to show up our conception of power for the delusion it is and guide us toward a right relation with true power. Only by moving with Tao, or the Way, or the will of God, can we hope to bring peace on earth.”47 Some of us, who call ourselves “liberals”, can be just as guilty of this abuse of power, as those we point the finger at and call closed minded.

We are all children of God. We all are. Even George W. Bush. What if the Feminine sent George w. Bush to teach us how to love? If we can look in the mirror and love the greedy, addicted, power and knowledge hungry, insatiable ghosts within us, we can love George W. Bush. Not with cheap grace, but with the transformative grace and power of the Love of God. Palmer speaks to the necessity of turning inward before action saying, “The core of Christian tradition is a way of inward seeking which leads to outward acts of integrity and service, acts of love. Christians are most in the Spirit when they stand at the crossing point of the inward and the outward life. And at that intersection, community is found. Community is a place where the connections felt in our hearts make themselves known in the bonds between people, and where the tuggings and pullings of those bonds keep opening up our hearts.”48 Can this connection we feel in our hearts reach to those we disagree with? Those we dislike, even those we are disgusted with? We can help each other with this; by tending to our hearts, and only then, sharing this love with others. Finger pointing may be part of this journey for us. That may be necessary as we wrestle in the darkness. There are a lot of tears to shed, and a lot of foot stomping anger to engage in. There is darkness to tread through, and we can only tread through our own, in our own ways and in our own time. And just as the light bleeds onto the night at dawn, the Love we seek is born only from the masterful and exquisite union of the brilliant light, and the darkest of dark. Let us stand still for a moment, and let the brilliance in; like a shining star guiding us towards new life.