Welcome to my blog, The Self Worth Diet on Wattpad! Here you will find recipes, personal stories, articles that I wrote for The Huffington Post GPS for the Soul as well as self help pieces. The Self Worth Diet is a spiritual as well as self help b...
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I watched the election coverage last night and wanted to be in the fetal position in my shower. I'm from Massachusetts, then moved to NYC and have been living in Los Angeles for some time now. Yes, my blood bleeds blue. I was a Hillary supporter and was very disappointed to see Trump win.
"How could this happen?" I thought. Well, I think there are several factors at play here. The first being the "angry white male syndrome." White men have become an endangered species and power has slipped out of their hands. They endured a black president for the past 8 years so they sure as hell weren't going to vote for of all things, a woman for president!
Hillary was wildly unpopular and there just wasn't the enthusiasm for voting for her as there was Bernie or Obama. She was seen as the status quo, untrustworthy and the old guard.
But I think the main reason why Trump won is economics. The rust belt and the South are struggling and depressed. They're out of work and barely making ends meet. The middle class and unemployed were tired of being ignored by the Democrats. They're sick of Hollywood, the media and the upper class getting all the breaks. Trump told them he would bring jobs to the U.S. and get the economy going and that is what they wanted to hear.
I knew I had to stop wallowing in the disappointment and start thinking spiritually. The right spiritual thing to do is to have compassion for the struggling middle class and to forgive the ignorant and bigoted.
I am clean and sober over 11 years now and we have this saying in AA, "principles before personalities." The United States is a country with great principles so we must forgive the challenging personalities and move on. That doesn't mean though that we don't fight! Our job now to champion for human rights.
The Dalai Lama is a great example of how we need to behave. Here is a man where the Chinese invaded his country and killed thousands of his people then forced him into exile. He could hate the Chinese but he forgives them and has compassion for them. But he also fights for the rights of his people and for peace. We, like the Dalai Lama, have to be the light that is brought into darkness, we can't be the darkness.
So if, like more than half the country you're disappointed by the election, here are 10 steps to get you out of it:
Step One – Admit you're powerless over your emotions. Yes, that's right. When the crushing defeat of disappointment hits you...Feel your damn feelings. It's okay.
Step Two – Get it out. After you've had your tantrum – get to writing in a journal. Write a letter to God. Tell him how upset you are. He can take it. Talk to empathetic friends or anyone in your support system.
Step Three – After the grieving period when you talked about it, had meltdowns and got it out, it's time to let it go. Let go and let God as we say.
Step Four – Self-Care & helping others – Problems die of neglect when you're helping someone else. I used to go into the prisons and help Jewish drug addicts and alcoholics. I didn't think once about my problems when I listened to them. Also practicing self-care is important. I have to get out of bed with the covers over my head and get some exercise, sun and do something fun for myself.
Step Five – Prayer and meditation – Get your conscious contact on with your higher power. When disappointment strikes, you fall off the spiritual beam. Get back on by clearing your mind of negative thoughts and realize that you're here for a purpose.
Step Six – Hit the pause button – Your higher power can't help you when you're in chaos and disturbed. You gotta be calm and level headed, which means take a break for a little to regroup.
Step Seven – Acceptance – Acceptance is the answer to all of your problems. The disappointment has happened, accept it.
Step Eight – Forgive – Forgive yourself for not handling the disappointment well, for getting emotional...And forgive those involved in the disappointment.
Step Nine – Unwavering Faith – In other words, don't give up. Have faith that it is happening maybe not in the way you think it should. It never looks the way you think it's going to but most of the time it will work out better than you had imagined.
Step Ten – Gratitude – The antidote to self-pity, not getting what you want, disappointment or feeling less is gratitude. I seriously do 3 gratitude lists a day. Focus on what you do have.
