We may not feel as though we had power in this year’s presidential election, no matter who won, but we still have power over our lives.

We as a nation have been divided. We have been divided by the colors, blue and red; and black and white. It has been shoved into our faces to make us hate each other and ourselves. Because if we truly came to together as one we would be a force to reckon with.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in life is how to perceive the world around us with all the tragedies, beauty, problems, nature, war, and love. What we focus on, how we perceive and communicate our thoughts and ideas, and how we take action tells us a lot about who we are and how we operate as a society.

When is that last time you truly asked yourself “Who Am I?” What are my values, what are my priorities, what do I love, what do I hate, and how do I feel and react in certain situations?

It’s unbelievable how much life can be torn down and rebuilt in the span of a few years.

Often times we get lost and see other humans as bad creatures, we express hate, denial, we throw guilt, shame, worry and distress. When we give these reactions we attract even more negativity. So how can we express our sorrow more creatively? How can we spin our anger into something beautiful? How can we use all this intense energy in a way that is beneficial and not destructive to ourselves and to others? Only you can answer that.

We are the problem, yet we are the solution. There are so many amazing people out there that are living purposefully and making the world great. Are you surrounding yourself with these people? Or are you surrounding yourself with people who will agree and contribute to the rantings, and self pity?

We create our reality by making choices to surround ourselves with love and beauty, or fear and hate. We can never completely eliminate either of the two. So have faith my friends, happiness still exists and remember your anger is beautiful, your sorrows are real, but the way you express yourself contributes to the world around you.

We are all the same just trying to survive the best way we know how.

I have a new dream that we will realize how much power we as individuals have. That we will accept this power as our own and use it in the best way we possibly can.

I have a new dream that we will realize the power of our thoughts, words, actions, habits and way of life. That we will try to be the best that we can to ourselves and to others.

I have a new dream that our many different cultures will come together and live in harmony, with differences and challenges accepted and played out in harmonious ways.

I have a new dream that the black and white nature of our people will open up to a full spectrum of color, with shining rays of light and love pouring through.

I have a new dream that we all recognize our potential, see ourselves as an essential part of this fragile ecosystem, and live to better understand ourselves so that we may give the best version of ourselves to everyone we come into contact with.

I have a new dream that we will understand the paradox and contradictions of life and ourselves, that we will accept that which we cannot control, and open our hearts to the possibilities of what could be.

I have a new dream that we all have faith in the world around us, understand that we all experience love and we all experience fear. We accept our flaws and imperfections and are okay with them because we use them as indicators of change to come and change is good, what once was a flaw can be transformed to beauty.

I have a new dream that we can understand ourselves as one group of beings, human beings. All on a journey full of new experiences and understanding, living through past experience and impulses, ones that we cannot explain, but we accept as part of human nature.

I have a new dream that we nurture the souls of all human beings, that we give love when we can, especially when we see someone lost or with fear in their eyes.

I have a new dream that we will see every moment as only temporary, that we will gently remind each other, this too shall pass.

I have a new dream that we can share the true nature of ourselves to others, without hiding behind the mask, and accept the opinions and beliefs of others.

I have a new dream that we can open our minds to possibilities of merging ideas and collaborating to greater levels of existence.

I have a new dream that we all understand sharing our love feels better than sharing our hate.

No matter who is President bad shit happens…ALL THE FUCKING TIME…wether you want it to or not.

But each of these situations provides us with infinite ways to react and make changes. You can make the demolition worse by filling your head with the habitual “WTF, OMG, are you fucking kidding me, I’m so unlucky, why me, what am I doing wrong, my life is over, I can’t believe it! ”

Yeah it feels good to let out this raging energy, the expression of animal impulses that we crave. But acting upon these feelings in public or habitually can cloud our judgement and limit our choices. Recognize your animal instinct and try not to pull others into manic reactions.

We can choose to think and act differently, think in ways that keeps you faithful that the world is not all darkness, that good things do happen. And they do, maybe this year it’s 50/50, maybe it’s more like 20/80 and maybe your perception of good and bad was tilted.

There is a way to immediately tip the scale, choose to see differently, make different decisions , see other possibilities, open up your mind, think, speak, and act in ways that make you feel good, that bring tears of joy to your eyes. Maybe that involves going into the darkness, crying, screaming letting out the rage, releasing all your fears and then coming back to the simplicity of breath.

Breath deep, you can make a difference in the world with every little thing that you do, pay attention.

The last thing we want to do is lose hope, or pretend like we don’t make a difference.

What I Choose To Do

I choose to accept that which I cannot change.
I choose to educate myself as much as possible so I can see all choices.
I choose to actively create and share love.
I choose to be patient and forgiving.
I choose to see the love in this world as it is.
I choose to love the world we are creating.
I choose to surround myself with people I love.
I choose to creatively express my fear, anger and rage in ways that make me feel good.
I choose to simplify my life and live more purposefully.
I choose life.
I choose love.

When I bring myself back to breath, I clear my mind of the constant chatter and realize that this present moment isn’t so bad. There is a sea of infinite possibilities, the question is “what am I going to do next?” I will not force the answer or try to think up something immediately, I will let it stew and wait for the answer to appear.

The beauty is in the mystery, bad things happens all the time, but good things happen too. There is good and bad in almost every situation we face, but what do you focus on?

I’ve felt lost many times, and I still do at times but that’s because I’m living. Life is a challenging mystery but I choose to perceive this challenge as a beautiful journey.

Without being uncomfortable, we forget the beauty of comfort.

I love you all and I wish you all the joy and happiness this life has to offer but I also wish you the most beautiful intense raging energy this life has to offer. Living in a society that tries to mask our animal impulses is fake and increases the energy build-up, until we eventually explode with rage. That burning energy running through our veins makes us feel alive! We crave this feeling, we do what we can to obtain this feeling, but there are many ways in which we can express it, how will you?

Love,
Amanda