What Lies Ahead?

     As some of you may know my day job is that of a clinical psychologist. I have already been contacted today by a number of people from all over the world in which they are expressing their concerns and fears about what lies ahead for America and the world. For quite a while I have been amazed at seeing people repeatedly vote against their own selfish best interests. I know I do not fully understand the phenomena.
     As a therapist it has been my experience that people do not call to make an appointment because it is a good idea. There are perhaps three smokers somewhere in the world who don't know that smoking causes cancer. All the remaining millions of smokers do so even though they are causing themselves harm. It has been my experience that people do not call me to talk because they have heard that I am an interesting person to speak to. They do not call me because they are in a lot of pain. Most people are walking around with their own reservoir of pain. People call me when both their level of pain and their level of desperation exceed their capacity to endure. Such a moment will be experienced as a horror for both the individual and those that love him. While this is true it is also true that these are perhaps the only conditions under which there is an opportunity for change. I am not yet sure that most Americans are at this point at this time. It does appear that the coming months and perhaps years may bring us to that point. Since I believe it is an essential moment for us to get to I pray that it happens sooner rather than later and that whatever takes place between now and then does not destroy those aspects of our society that function for the greater good of all. I know that this too shall pass.

     It is perhaps now our task to seek out that place of goodness that resides in all of us rather than to focus on our need to emphasize differences and demonize the other.