I took this picture in New Hampshire in October 2012 when I was campaigning for Barack Obama. This week I will travel north to campaign for Hillary.
In what has been a protracted assault of “noxious word spew” (Samantha Bee’s words – watch the Pussy Riot episode), I am feeling soiled, triggered, disgusted by the degradation of our discourse. What to do, what to do? I need to handle my rage before I go knock on doors.
So here is some of what I am doing, in no particular order:
- Getting outside to take in the astonishing color and the delectable, golden late afternoon light.
- Breathing.
- Watching The Voice (my guilty pleasure), and savoring the sister play of Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys.
- Lifting weights, doing deep plies, push ups, dancing to sweat – this is not really my usual protocol, but I need to cycle in some power.
- Riding my horses and letting their softness and goodness come into my cells.
- Not playing any podcasts that contain the other candidate’s name.
- Making calls for Hillary in the evening.
Here is the thing. I LOVE Hillary. I love that she is human, that she is a fighter, that she has navigated the Class 5 rapids of 30 years of attack by a party defined by its ugly, entrenched misogyny. I love her laugh, her compassion, her ability to listen, her willingness to keep going, her devotion to women’s rights. I love that she speaks in sentences that actually make sense, and that she can respond her for to changing conditions and new perspectives (thank you Bernie).
So I am going to take my strong, albeit bruised heart in hand and go speak from that heart to strangers. I am going to do my best not to take anything personally. I am just going to put my head down and work. I am going to do this with old friends from previous campaigns, and new friends that I will meet.
This takes a lot of courage. I remember well the feeling of walking up to a door and not knowing what I would meet. It can be daunting, and in a climate of extreme political acrimony, it is downright scary My model will be Hillary, who gets up every day and faces the crazy music. I will heed Michelle Obama’s words and go high to the best of my ability.
And I will be posting from the road. So watch this space, and wish me luck.