I have spent a great deal of time on the phone with my two sons discussing the political situation. Jeff and I spoke last night, and Chris and I spoke this morning, on his hour drive to work.
Chris watched the convention and was furious which is why I didn't watch. I have to take some precautions around my health.
I heard from another friend whose mother is starting to believe the lies that arrive in her mailbox each day, the lies about Obama.
I realize the mail must be targeted. I have never received one.
I found myself thinking of Buddha under the bodhi tree. We cannot let "these people" get to us, or they really will have won. This is about more than the election. This is about our souls.
When I saw the advertising that Palin used for governor, I realized oil money sponsored her even then. When Alan suggested that Palin was another Cheney, I was startled, but I see now that he is right. This woman wasn't a surprise announcement to those in the know. She is a calculated oil-interest choice and they are using religion and the religious right to promote her and we are sickened by the hypocrisy that lies are used to promote in the name of religion, but look at history.
We are trying to change the dog eat dog mentality that has existed for most of historical time. What Barack Obama is trying to do is bigger than huge. Let's support him, and in that support, be like the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh in how they responded to what was done to their countries, Tibet and Vietnam.
This is about Mara.
Wikipedia has this to say about Mara.
In Buddhist cosmology, Mara personifies unskillfulness, the "death" of the spiritual life. He is a tempter, distracting humans from practicing the spiritual life by making the mundane alluring or the negative seem positive.
The early Buddhists, however, rather than seeing Mara as a demonic, virtually all-powerful Lord of Evil, regarded him as more of a nuisance. Many episodes concerning his interactions with the Buddha have a decidedly humorous air to them.
I know we feel we are being attacked,. Lies are being told, and it is for each of us to recognize this is Mara, and we can work as hard as is possible to get Barack elected, knowing that Mara is busily trying to distract. We cannot sink into hatred or division. We must acknowledge, welcome, smile and work like hell to get Barack Obama in the White House while we each work night and day to keep our own sanity, spirituality, goodness, love, and soul.
I have decided to take a mental health day and spend this day in meditation and prayer. I think we each need to take care of our own physical, mental, and spiritual health, and in that healing, the healing of the world can repair. It may not be what we want right now, and it is for us to stay involved while also knowing we can't be thrown off our own truth and beliefs in the power of love, the right of truth.