Meditations and Reflections on New Years 2025

I believe that I am almost in a state of paralysis, my mind full of thoughts and ideas wanting to be expressed, but entirely exhausted trying to make my way through the pages and chapters of the book titled Two Thousand Twenty-Four. So much has happened in the World, in our Country. The political environment we have been living in and the remarkable contentious Presidential election has exposed the great divide in these anything BUT United States. I find myself wondering, how did we get here and how can we get out of here? No matter your political leanings, this elections was fraught with explosive rhetoric, an assassination attempt and a candidates withdrawal…just naming a few crazy events. Politics this past year and the impact that this environment has had on me personally leaves me deplete of words that could be helpful in making any kind of sense of what has transpired while carving out a path, a plan to move forward with ease and piece of mind.

As the campaigned became more and more contentious, I made promises to myself to find calm, seek understanding and to express my patriotism as belief in the process, the Democratic process, mindful that our Country is still young, still growing, learning and maturing. I constantly remind myself that 9/11 happened so shortly after the most contentious Presidential election outcome I had seen in my lifetime. The Bush-Gore hand recount, the hanging chads, the recount that was actually broadcast to the nation, so we could bear witness to the Democratic process of electing our President the Commander and Chief. The Florida recount of 61,000 undervotes, votes that were not properly tabulated and processed in the voting machines. Every very vote needed to be counted and in the end, the election was decided by the landmark Supreme Court Decision Bush v. Gore, making George Bush the President elect. I don’t want to get into the weds about this matter, but I will say that the litigation involved in this Presidential deciding this particular Presidential election remains quite controversial as to how it all played out, and there are still many folks who believe and believed at that time that our election Process and Officials State and Federal needs to be shored up and fortified. Still, I remember, lines were drawn, sides were taken, people were angry, the country was horribly divided. For the months following George Bush’s inauguration January 20, 2001 leading up to 9/11 we were still licking our wounds from that very divisive Presidential election, an election that quite literally hinged on many of the same issues we are dealing with today. With this in mind, I recall 9/12 and somehow I know deep in my soul that this too shall pass, we will be our beloved and United States, America once again. I find myself reliving the bullhorn speech President George W Bush made on 9/14 at Ground Zero, a visual that I will never forget, and a feeling I had never experienced before, Patriotism to my core and an immediate and unconditional allegiance to President George W Bush. More than anything I am filling my mind with thoughts and observations that evoke the feelings I had on 9/12, the feelings that we all had, and the pride and patriotism in our Country immediately following this catastrophic National Tragedy.

Staying with 9/11, the heroism we all witnessed, the likes of which I believed were reserved for fictional characters and historical heavyweights like Mother Teresa, Hercules, Captain America, Superman, Spiderman… I could go on. We all witnessed compassion, caring and fellowship in an entirely new and profoundly deep way, connecting us, unifying our Country. I was in awe of how our government worked urgently, contemplatively, cooperatively and in the most unified lock step manner I had seen in my entire life. Moving through this year, I am going to seek connections and stay away from conflict, I am going to listen to my intuition, live in gratitude and endeavor to be in the present moment. We have a remarkable Country and Government built on the principles so clearly stated in our Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” That is really an ideal…inalienable rights, liberties that can not be taken away, protection that is guaranteed. I remind myself that the preamble to our constitution sums it all up, saying that, “We the People of the United States of America, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the Common Defense, promote the general Welfare.

Many harmful and painful feelings germinate from negative thoughts, fears that are fixed, embedded in my thinking and ideas or positions on any number of topics where there is no room to see or hear anything contrary. It is not that I want to put my head in the sand, nor do I want to live in lala land, I just know that living with angst, fear, contention and discomfort surrounding National and International Politics erodes my ability to stay positive, be positive and optimistic. My Political views are tied to my moral compass and the core of my being and I obviously feel strongly and deeply about many political matters, still I’m not willing to dismiss people I love for the political views they hold. The landscape of our political leaning changes over time and the pendulum always sways back and forth…perpetual motion right. I don’t feel the need to argue a point or engage in dialogues where I’m unwilling to listen, or where I will not be heard, why bother either way. Every discussion does need not grow into an argument and I want to pick and choose how I use my energies to effectively convey my thoughts so that they exert some influence on another’s perspective. I am always willing to talk about my own story and as the mother of two grown Queer people, I eagerly share my experience and perspective and as a LGBTQ++ Ally I try to foster understanding and build common ground when I am able.

I do not want contention, anger and angst to dictate how I feel or think all the time. In 2025 I plan to light a candle every morning, meditate and do a gentle Yoga practice. The candle symbolic of light, warmth, a place pause, and I will light candles at weeks end, as a way to mark time, contemplate and meditate weekly, an effort to stay connected to my body, mind and spirit. I have designated time every Friday to attend to my houseplants, to cultivate, water, replant whatever need be. While attending to my plants I will take the time check in with my thoughts and direct those as well, sending those strays in the right direction. Using rituals helps me to move through my days with intentions that are set and so from the first strike of the match to light a candle, to my good night gratitude practice and all the practices in between that create opportunities for me pause and drop into the present moment, a place where I always long to be. May this New Year bring us closer to the ideals that all citizens of these glorious United States hold dear.

Let’s be kind to one another, seek understanding, common ground and community.

With so much love,

Stephanie