Our “Garden of Gethsemane” Moment

By now, you know about my eclectic spiritual beliefs that I hold deeply in my very core. But watching the election results on Tuesday night, I “forgot” some of those beliefs. I found myself feeling disconsolate, and betrayed and abandoned by my Spirit Guides and, yes, even by God/Source/Light. In my mind I railed at them all:

“Why are you allowing this to happen?! Can’t you cut us a f*cking break?? Can’t you show us even a glimmer of light at the end of this dark tunnel of global chaos?? Do you expect us to keep getting knocked down and then dragging ourselves up by our bootstraps again and again and again ad infinitum?? We’re f*cking tired of fighting for ‘right over might’ with no end in sight!!”

And then I had several thoughts come up . . . (To non-Christian readers, bear with me here.)

I’m no longer a practicing Catholic, but a phrase from my childhood religious training surfaced: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” I googled it and apparently a disconsolate Christ railed at God too—from the crucifixion cross. Previous to that, in the Garden of Gethsemane (the “Agony in the Garden”), filled with deep anguish and dread of his imminent betrayal, arrest, suffering, and crucifixion, Christ supposedly prayed so fervently to his Father to not have to endure it all that he sweated blood.

Now, feeling deep anguish observing the election results and assured aftermath no matter the final result, I understand like never before his feelings of betrayal and abandonment. The grief, dread, fear, and hopelessness. Because regardless of the final election results (unknown at this writing), the U.S. is still deeply divided, with not just dislike and mistrust on both sides, but rather pure, unadulterated, virulent hatred felt by many for the other tribe. And there’s a lot of suffering, which will continue, with even more to come. Likewise in many countries around the globe.

Then I realized that in a way, the final election results don’t really matter. Whoever has won, there’s still that seemingly insurmountable division and still A LOT of work to be done to fix what’s been revealed to be broken—and there may be even more shenanigans and brokenness to come.

And I still believe that no one person, no one political party, no one institution or group is going to fix this chaos for us. Nor will there be a miraculous “Deus ex machina” (a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence—Wikipedia).

Nope, none of that. Rather, I still firmly believe it’s up to us to work collectively, in whatever manner we can, to fix what’s broken. And yes, co-create a better Path for Humanity.

Just as after the Agony in the Garden, Christ (in the Christian belief system) resolutely did what needed to be done to save Humanity, we need to pick ourselves up from our post-election Garden of Gethsemane, dust ourselves off, and do what needs to be done.

To begin with, to really move forward as a nation will require work. As fictional President Andrew Shepherd says towards the end of the movie “The American President”:

America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight.

So on one level, “We the people” need to step up and take more responsibility in how our government is run. But on another level, we can do what I’ve been saying all along in these posts:

Rise above the chaos, hatred, and drama.

Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving.

Identify your “domain of interest, and the contribution you can make to it. And . . .

“Just do it.”

Get creative. Think outside the box. Listen to “messages from the Universe” maybe about an existing initiative that may be perfect for your interests, skills, knowledge, and experience. For example, Steve told me about the Braver Angels group that seeks to “Bring Reds and Blues together, to talk, listen, and understand.”¹ Or start your own initiative.

So whatever your political leanings, maybe look on the election results not as a doomsday disaster or a time of elated celebration, but rather as an opportunity to take our new-found knowledge of what’s been revealed to be broken is so many domains of this reality—and begin to fix it. Even if that takes time and effort, and a lot of “blood, sweat, and tears.”

As I always say, I believe we can do this. I believe we MUST do this.

There IS light at the end of the tunnel—because we put it there. That’s why we’re here. It’s us. We’re the light and the Light. And remember that you’re not alone—for example, I think that the astronomical numbers of early turnout with voters standing in line for hours even during a pandemic is a sign that a huge number of Americans want democracy to work, want a better Path for Humanity. We just have to figure out together what that might be. 

In the meantime, I ask that you remember that despite the drama and anguish, the planet continues to revolve, the sun continues to shine, and the birds continue to sing. So take a deep breath and do some self-care before getting to work on our future. I suggest that wine or chocolate can go a long way to “greasing the skids”! (Just kidding. Or maybe not?)

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Footnote:

1 Braver Angels