The risk of withholding your blessings
/Someone I really like and respect recently shared a meditation that he practiced before the second presidential debate, in which he sent loving and grounding energy to Hillary Clinton.
I'm all for sending good wishes to people, but what struck me most was that this very loving and wise human being chose to limit his good wishes to Hillary.
Couldn't Donald Trump and his supporters use some love and groundedness, too?
A few years ago, I attended a service at the Unity Church of Rochester, where the minister offered a weekly blessing to all politicians:
May they see their work as sacred. May they govern with wisdom, humility, integrity and love. May they be supported in selflessly serving the best interests of the community and the world.
I'm sure those weren't her exact words, but the essence of the message has stuck with me.
Just because I don't agree with Donald Trump doesn't mean I can't want the same things for him as I want for every other human being on the planet: To be happy. To be healthy. To know peace. To feel loved and lovable. To use his unique gifts to serve the world.
Can you imagine how much good he could do, if that were true?
(Or, if you're a Trump supporter, how much good Hillary could do if she leveraged her strengths to support something you care about?)
I don't have confidence that anyone else will change just because I happen to have a certain intention for them. But offering all candidates and their supporters a heartfelt blessing feels comforting and good to me. It reinforces the best of who I am and what I stand for.
Conversely, when I withhold my blessings from people, it makes me feel small, powerless, and afraid. And I am of service to no one.
What about you?
If you could offer a blessing to your leaders and representatives, what would it be? What do you want most for them? What do you want from them?
I would love to hear.