It is the soul that must be preserved

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

I don’t know about any of you, but I’m finding myself exhausted. Its only been about 2 1/2 weeks with this new administration, but I feel like my pace of trying to keep up with things has been pretty frenetic. I’m trying very hard to read, listen and collect my thoughts about what I think is happening. And between a hyped-up media and a progressive blogoshpere that is analyzing every move anyone in DC makes, its an awful lot to absorb.

That’s why this morning, I felt a need to go back and read An Open Letter to Barack Obama that was written by Alice Walker the day after the election. I remember that it moved me greatly and I thought it was wonderful advice that she gave. Its just that now, maybe I need it too.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on…

One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want…

I would further advise you not to take on other people’s enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise…

There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people’s spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led. A good model of how to “work with the enemy” internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world. We are the ones we have been waiting for.

emphasis mine

Thanks Alice, I needed that. And, while some might see it as superficial, I find strength in stories like the ones about the Obama’s taking some time to read to 2nd graders.

And continuing their Date Night tradition by going to the Kennedy Center.

There are so many individual ways to do it, but ultimately, we must preserve our souls.