7/7/17
Surviving a Trump Presidency
The day after the 2016 election, I wrote a blog on how to
survive under a Trump presidency. It
ended with this story:
A priest, a rabbi and a minister were stranded on a desert island that was rapidly submerging under the incoming tide. The priest sank to his knees and prayed to the Virgin Mary to intercede with god. The minister clasped his hands together, looked towards heaven, and vowed to change his ways. When they were done, they turned to stare at their Jewish brother who was sitting in the water, concentrating on each new wave.
“What are you doing?” they asked.
“Learning to breathe underwater,” he replied.
Unlike the Creature from the Black Lagoon, we can't grow gills. So what to do? Here’s some excellent advice from social
worker Robin Chancer who offers a two-step plan.
STEP ONE:
Come to terms with what happened. Stop fighting the
pain. Trump got elected. We now have a president who views the world through a pathological
narcissism that can be truly frightening. It is what it is. He is not as bad as some of
us thought he would be. He’s worse.
But instead of wallowing in the agony, she suggests
that we accept the pain and then move on to focus on action. Accept what is AND
aim to change it.
STEP TWO:
Mindfulness, the Buddhist concept of focusing on now rather
than replaying the past.
“Each time the tapes of despair and anger play in your mind, doggedly shift your focus. The mind will wander, again and again. Each time it happens, we notice the anxious thoughts, and shift our focus back."
If the Trump budget reduces the block grants that help fund Meals on Wheels, note
that volunteerism is up by 500%. Maybe
volunteer to help. If funding has been cut to public broadcasting, maybe send
them a little money to help them along. They will be grateful for any donation, no matter how small.
Mindfulness also requires that we not focus on the
future. That’s territory for both optimism
and pessimism. Pay attention instead, Chancer says, to what we can do here and now. For
me, that means phone calls and emails to my vulnerable Republican senator as
important votes come up. 2018 is next year.
I’ll work on that next year.
You can find Chancer’s whole blog here. It's really excellent advice.
As Bernie Sanders said, despair is not an option.
