The Ocean in a Drop

When everything is going to hell, we still get to choose whether we are for peace, or against it.

I drafted this blog post a while ago, and slated it for today. I have just re-read it, and given what is currently unfolding in the US, wondered if it felt relevant. I believe it is — and may even be more relevant than I could have dreamed.

I realise this message may not sit well with those caught up in the emotional drama of the US election — and I count myself among you. I spent most of yesterday in a simmering state of fury and frustration which I am finding it hard to pin down, but for now I would say it’s a combination of indignation that the process of democracy is being so egregiously assaulted, disgust for the individual who is the perpetrator of that assault (and assaults on so many other values that I hold dear), and concern for the future — for the safety of my American friends, for the environment, and for the rest of the world, because all of us will be affected to a greater or lesser degree, even in the best case scenario, and like Umair Haque and Van Jones, I’m not that optimistic about that scenario coming to pass.

But I’m doing my best to reframe this into something I can handle. I’m doing my best to take a longer term view. I’m doing my best to understand the sense of disenfranchisement and struggle that has led some people to vote the way they…