Donald Trump.
I can’t think of a more bewildering person in a place of power — and apparently, we as a nation put him there. I feel deep anxiety when I think of the things his presidency might “accomplish.” He seems to be at war with anything might be called a conscious agenda. An agenda such as this might unify, might seek commonalities through diplomatic discourse, rather than constant division. I’d like to feel like we have a competent, thoughtful person at the helm of the United States. I’d sleep better with a person like that leading the country.
No such luck.
But the subject of this short essay isn’t about how “bad” Number 45 might be for the rising of the collective consciousness. Rather, I’d like to point out how Trump, or anyone in our lives that triggers fear in us, can work for the benefit of all.
Here’s what I usually hear, and it matches what I generally believed until recently. This usually comes from people who, like me, I consider “awakening.” We’ll be chatting about current events and Trump comes up.
“Well,” we’ll agree, “he won’t be in there forever. We’ll get (insert Presidential hopeful here) and they’ll turn things around.” Wrong answer, and here’s why.
He is us.
I don’t mean that we would trade barbs with an(other) obviously unstable world leader who has his fingers hovering over a nuclear button. I don’t mean that we might also confuse facts with “alternative facts.” Nor do I mean that we would contradict ourselves with alarming regularity, or display such jaw-dropping situational negligence as he does. Any of us might do better in those areas than our current President. Where “he is us,” is in his process of awakening.
I mentioned above a conversation that I might have. I used the term, “awakening” to describe my consciousness-seeking friends. That’s because I don’t know anyone to whom I’d consistently apply that title. I reserve that term for the Buddha, for Jesus and Gandhi and the few others of their ilk… and none of them exist in my current zip code, nor are they on my speed dial. That means that every one of my friends, those that understand that there IS such a thing as consciousness, is somewhere in the process of raising theirs. The end result of this individual work will be the raising of the collective consciousness that we so desperately need.
But we’re not there yet. So, where are we?
We’re in the process of evolving. That means we fumble. It means we may have a hard time giving up things that we know aren’t helpful, but that are habitual. We get mad, or lustful, or allow fear -or sugar – to dim our inner lights. In short, we give in to lower vibration activities and then trot off to a dharma talk, or listen to Ram Dass or Alan Watts, or serve at a food shelter… all the things that “enlightened” folks might do. In short, we often find ourselves taking two steps forward and one step back.
In the end, I still see Mr. Trump’s fumbling and I shudder. I shake my head and wonder what will become of us. I used to leave it at that. But I’ve begun to think to myself, “I’m sure glad I’m not on a public stage, working out all my demons for the world to see.” From this, more compassion arises. I see him as a brother that’s karmically in a very precarious position, and he may not be ready for it. Just like I, at times, don’t feel ready for what comes to me.
The blessing of being subjected to people like Trump is that they’re mirrors of our own inadequacies, of our own foibles and deep contradictions. This is where we, through compassion towards Self and Others, can come to the realization that we are One. We can come to feel deeply that, almost no matter how obnoxious the Other is, we’ve been every bit as obnoxious — just on a smaller stage.
Put another way, it’s not, “there but for the grace of God go I,” as much as it’s, “well… there I am.”
Does this mean we turn a blind eye? In no way. Compassion without personal responsibility is just pity. We don’t take on the effects of the unenlightened actions of others, but we have a responsibility to work to do what we can to overcome them. It’s the energy that we bring to this sticky work that tells if it’s going to help or hinder the process of collective soulful evolution. If we bring an attitude of “Us vs. Them,” of “Me Righteous, You Not,” this is simply more division, more war.
This is not the answer.
In the end, we’re all Unified, whether we like it or not within any particular moment. This includes not only of the beautiful parts of ourselves and others, but those parts that are far less attractive. It’s all a part of the process of evolution, this seeing and acceptance of the All. This is the meaning of compassion: the seeing of ourselves in the other. The phrase, “love thy neighbor as thyself,” is far more understandable if worded, “love thy neighbor as if he were thyself.”
May Mr. Trump, as well as I and my awakening friends, all evolve before we do more damage. May we instead bring our lights to bear in this unique place and plane. And may we do so in time to extend compassion and love to all of life.
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