LIFE
I have to be honest and say that I have yet to process the breadth, scope and meaning of the upcoming US presidential inauguration. I do not know how to anticipate its energetic effects on the country and the way that it will consequently reverberate through my Being as an American, as a patriot. Since I cannot anticipate how this energetic effect will feel, I’m not “preparing” for the inauguration, so to speak. Nothing can “prepare” me for this. I do not think that another Being so scared, small, and confused has ever filtered through the lifeblood of the country since I’ve been here. Since I came through my mother in Detroit.
1985. It was Reagan’s day, but he was still a human. I could tell he was still a human, I mean.
This feels like an even more special case of someone who’s humanity is buried underneath many thin layers of bombasticity and bravado that are ultimately made of nothing. I don’t think I’ve ever felt an incoming president was made of nothing. No matter how conservative they were, they still felt real.
I suppose I feel a bit like I’m holding my breath. And a bit like this isn’t happening. And a bit like it doesn’t matter what happens. It is quiet in Harlem as I’m writing this. The Sun reminds me of the desert kind that looms over something holding lots of dry things.
The thing that is still left to do is grieve. Grieve more. And to hold strongly in the ground underneath the layer of fear. Roots go deeper than fear. Roots hold through centuries, roots touch the core of reality.
We do not always see reality above the ground. In fact, I’d venture to say that we don’t see it most of the time. Unless we really train ourselves to look.
What to do on inauguration day? Look for the truth. Stay rooted in the ground. Reach for the best of our nature. Listen deeply for the heartbeat of the country underneath the noise—because there will be noise, a lot of noise reverberating through our skin and we will need our bodies to become open, honest ears.
And we will need to remember to look down below the ground for the roots holding us together.