It has been difficult to get clear about these decisions in the midst of divergent views and confusing information. I hope that my thoughts here can provide support and solidarity for those of you who have already taken these steps, and encouragement to others as you determine how best to respond today and this week.

A lot of people come to me because they don’t feel calm inside. Right now, between the holidays and the political climate, there are a lot of people not feeling calm inside. And therefore, they - more accurately, I will say we - don’t have the whole story. Oftentimes, the part of the story we’re missing is our own true voice.

There is a lot of uncertainty in our world right now. I am keenly aware of a feeling of insecurity both within myself and in those around me. How do we make sense of the changes in our nation’s political and economic landscape? And how might they impact our daily lives? We just don’t know. Not to mention the unknown impacts of changes, often unbidden, in our work and personal lives. That not knowing can be difficult to tolerate. But what if we are up to the task of tolerating all of this uncertainty and not-knowingness?

The seasonal music reminds us that “there’s no place like home for the holidays” and that “love is all around us.” It’s got me thinking about relationships, and how we can attend to them, even in the midst of this busy time of year.   

Have you ever felt “capsized” by an event or situation in your life? 

Using the metaphor of being the captain of your ship on the ocean of life: perhaps it feels as if you are sailing along, and a huge wave comes and overtakes you. Something unexpected and completely overwhelming occurs, for a few hours or even a few days. We don’t understand what just happened — we couldn’t anticipate it and it wasn’t supposed to happen, just like ships aren’t supposed to capsize.

This fall seems to be moving quickly — where did September go? It was the anniversary month for Four Corners Counseling and Wellbeing, and also my birthday month! I find birthdays to be a great time to reflect on what I am grateful for over the past year of my life — even the hard stuff — and what I am looking forward to in the coming year.  

So recently I bought a car.  I drove a rental car to pick it up.  The woman behind the counter was irritated, stressed, and bound by what the computer told her was possible.  This really impacted me in ways I was not aware of at the time, and it has made me think about the dangers of a closed mind.

Let me tell you about my day last Friday.  My car had broken down over the previous weekend and could not be repaired, so I had to purchase a new one.  I had found exactly what I wanted over the internet, and I was driving to pick it up when I received a phone call from the salesman saying that another sales person had sold it to someone else.  I was very disappointed, of course, because it is hard to find a car with a manual transmission that isn’t a sports car (too small and just not me) or a pick-up (too large and just not me.)  But Jay called me back and said that his manager had worked it out and to come on down.  Phew.