Day One Post Election and The Jumbled Vocabulary It Brings

Here is a snippet of the jumbled vocabulary that’s swirling around my mind today. I’ll organize it better another day. But today, I just need to get it down...

I awoke three minutes before my alarm went off this morning with a tightness in my chest. We had a heavy snowfall last night, which usually brings me a sense of calm because I love the quiet and peace that an overnight snowfall typically brings. But instead, I could feel a profound shift in the air that was more intuitive and figurative than literal. I could feel something brewing within me as well as outside of me, something that was blizzard-like— deceptively beautiful and peaceful yet overwhelming and destructive at the same time. And I knew that I didn’t need to look at the notifications on my phone to know why. I knew without looking at my phone who won the 2024 election. And I knew without looking that I would have to take the morning, the day, the rest of the week, to gather my thoughts and feelings so that I would be able to focus my attention on the future in a way that I have never done before in my entire life, which oddly enough brought me a sense of peace. Because action, I’ve decided, doing something intentional, will bring me peace. At the same time, my thoughts were not yet coherent. All that came to my mind were random words. So, step one in my intentional process entailed working my way through the random words popping up in my mind this morning, to get them down and make sense of them somehow. 

What follows now is the jumbled vocabulary that flooded my brain this morning, forcing me to make sense of my thoughts and feelings simultaneously in today’s draft, the draft I’m writing the day after Election Day. Make of it what you will. But, as always, try to keep in mind that drafts are intended to edit and revise. So, for now, here is the jumbled alphabet soup in my mind: 

Absolute. Absolute rule. Absolute power. The absolute fact that nothing is or ever will be absolute. Tyrants have tried and failed continually to rule absolutely, but it never ends well for them. They inevitably design their own destruction. And the only thing we know for sure is that change, and remaining connected to others, is inevitable, especially the harder we try to resist it.  

Blood. Blood shed in centuries past by others for others to be free must mean something. Blood ties that bind and break, but also evolve—biologically too. Blood lust is not only for fantastical vampires in horror books. It’s also very real for those seeking revenge. Revenge is based in fear because it’s based in anger, as there is no anger where there is no fear, so those who are thirsty for blood are afraid. Of what? 

Casualties. We are all casualties of history, of past wars, of current wars. Just look close enough to what connects us as humans, whether you approve of those connections of blood or not, they’re real and persistent, and you’ll see how and in what ways we are all casualties of the human condition. Now, if only that was a bonus and not a debt to be paid.   

Democracy. This is a word that has lost its power recently.  But it will likely be revitalized again. If we use it well and with care and reimagine its definition in the real world. The only question is: how long will it take for it to come back into full effect? And will we use it wisely in our lives, and for the lives of our children and grandchildren, and all the generations after them.  

Empathy. A feeling that is more natural to humans than its opposite, when they are unafraid and strong and unencumbered by the weight of the tyrants of the world and the manufactured rage those tyrants bring. A feeling that is neutral and practical and prevalent and only clouded over by those who are unsettled within themselves and those who have lost themselves and all sense of meaning. 

Fire and Brimstone. Reign of terror, hell on Earth, hyperbolic narratives used to contort and control humanity. Some followers are feeling the flames of those bloodthirsty tyrants fueled by their petty egos and revenge and want to spread their fire thinking that it will keep them unscorched. But inevitably they and their tyrants will all be engulfed in their own sparked flames. 

Giddy are those who mock. And those who mock are afraid and insecure, exposing their deepest vulnerabilities to the world. Those who are secure with themselves don’t mock others. Giddiness at the expense of another’s hardship or struggles is evil. Pure evil. And such evil is rarely redeemable, as it is sociopathic, an incurable illness.  

Hate and its opposite, Hope. Hatred is based in the past, based on things that cannot be changed, and things that are not understood or trying to be understood due to fear. Hope, on the other hand, is brave, as it is based in the future, and is based on the process of understanding things and others, as well as things that can be changed. So, in this sense Hope is the exact opposite of Hate. 

Illusions of grandeur. Illusions of triumph over perceived enemies. The only enemies you have are the ones you create for yourself. If you believe you want to vanquish your enemies, you should surely cast yourself among them because their existence is your doing. Because no one would consume themselves with destroying those who did not hold up a mirror to their own internal shame and insecurities and fears. 

Joy. Joy is for those who are not afraid, who are unburdened by fear and the insecurities that fear brings. Joy is what will help you remember what has meaning, value, and what’s worth doing in your short life. Joy is light and requires a sense of freedom, even if that freedom is only imagined. 

Killing others with Kindness. Which is especially hard when you know there are quite a few people out there who wouldn’t lose sleep over what and who would actually kill you. However, it’s important to remember that no one has ever regretted being too kind in the long run because real kindness necessitates giving without the expectation of getting anything in return. Again, much harder to do in the real world. But the brave, bold, and strong will manage, even if messily.   

Love your neighbor as yourself. Love yourself enough to make decisions that are best for your own well-being in the long run, too. And try to find a balance between the two. Usually if you love yourself, you love your neighbor, as long as there isn’t hypocrisy present. And try to think of love as your default method of being, not something to be contrived or feigned. Love does conquer all. But consider: what is it, who is it, that you love? 

Manliness and the real and metaphorical mortars they invent will be the premature death knell of us all. Masculinity is a manmade (pun intended) construct. Therefore, it can be warped into what we want it to be. 

Noise. There will be a lot of shouting and name-calling and blame and lies and gaslighting and ridicule, etc. Try not to become part of the mainstream commotion that doesn’t lead to anything productive or humane. In the end, we all bleed the same.  

Opulence and Oppression. Both words represent different sides of the same coin. A coin which, poetically enough, represents the widening wealth gap in the U.S. and across the globe. There cannot be opulence without oppression, and there cannot be oppression without the desire for opulence.  

‘Progress’ is not a dirty word. It’s what happens when humans are free to be innovative and are, well… being human. Consider where our economy would be without electricity or the internet, then consider how much better it would be if we were all truly free to invent and innovate and progress society forward, using our unique, individual gifts.  

Quiet. There will be ebbs and flows of noise. In those moments of calm, reflect on what fills you with joy, with hope, with peace, with tenacity. Or simply take the time to breathe. Such moments are more productive than most will have you believe, and are much better than being busy simply for the sake of being busy. 

Rights. Keep your eyes on equality. Common humanity. Keep your eyes on your principles and values and continue on the path that leads to eventual peace and liberty. For all. 

Sanctions and Strength. There will be sanctions, both domestic and international. But they won’t be used against those who are causing all the ills of the world. Instead, they’ll be used as tools of oppression or strategy against those without. It’s time to redefine ‘strength’ as something that a Strongman will never own, because true strength lies in patience and endurance and grace and humility, and … 

Tyrant. This is not about one person in the end, although that’s hard for many to see right now. What is happening right now will not remain constant forever. Change is the only constant. The man in power now will not be here one day. Then what? Please consider. Every tyrant who has ever lived, like us all, has an expiration date. Then what? 

Untimely deaths and destruction are devastating, hard to stomach, tragic to endure, but will happen when tyranny rules, when a common sense of humanity dissipates. So, don’t let your humanity wane. Don’t risk becoming a hypocrite. As all oppression leads to violence. And violence always begets violence.  

Violence cannot endure without fear, without widespread complicity. And it will remain cyclical, without the will to end it. In the end it is exhausting and gets all of humanity nowhere worth going. It wastes time and energy.  

Willingness. To travel on an uncharted, different path. To be bold. To be brave. To be tenacious and unique. To reach out a hand for someone else in need. And see the essence of their humanity. 

X, the social media platform, the echo chamber of fear mongering, and all the xenophobia it will continue to spread should be seen for what it is. Any thoughts worth pursuing will not be based in anger, in fear and promoted by a manipulable algorithm. 

You are a part of this history of the world. You exist here and now. You matter. You bleed too. What will you do now? For whom will you do it? And who will you bring along with you?  

Zealots are extreme, which makes them exhausting. But remember, nature demands balance in the long run, and there is only so much energy to go around.  

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What words have been swirling around your mind today? Let’s chat in the comments. 

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© All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC.

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Today’s Writing Prompt