Moving forward ...

It is over ... finally. After countless months of listening to the worst political vitriol any of us have ever encountered, we live in a country in which friend and family now see each other as the enemy. Regardless of who we, ourselves, supported, we stare at each other aghast, thinking "how could they vote for someone so vile, so evil?"

But now it is over. It doesn't even matter who has won. What matters now is how to bring this country back together, how to heal the wounds that this hateful cycle exploited and exasperated. And I know that many think that it can't be done. There is no going back to peace after this nightmare of a war.

But there is a way forward for those of us brave enough to take it. There is one path, difficult though it may be, for those of us who want to end the hatred and division that runs rampant right now. That is to walk the Path of Kindness. I am not talking about anything deep or metaphysical. I am simply saying ... be kind. When someone comes toward you with anger or frustration, be kind. Don't answer hate with hate or anger with anger. Be kind, be compassionate. Smile at the stranger on the street. Open a door for someone behind you. Help when someone drops a package. One act of kindness can inspire another, then another, then another, as the community, the world itself, can change through one simple act at a time.

There are a million and one ways to show kindness and compassion in any given day to any number of people you encounter ... both those you know and those you don't. The magic of kindness is that you don't have to know them, agree with them, vote like them, look like them, believe like them, love like them, talk like them, or in any other way inhabit the same circles. Acts of kindness are about being human. And, like a stone thrown into a lake, its impact will ripple out to places you cannot see.

If you truly want to heal your community ... be kind!