From around September through December, Ancestors and spirits are always more heavily present. This year though, has been a whole other experience for many Death workers I know, myself included. They have been present in mass and in a much heavier physical context. Many of us have been chatting and speculating on the change but I think the answer is much more clear now, at least for me – “We have been here before.”

This week has rocked a lot of people because of our elections. For many people I know, we looked at the issues and choice from a humanistic/ people perspective – others looked at it from a money perspective – and some from a religious one. There are all kinds of different reasons why people voted the way they did, and I think John already did a good job talking about that.

In the end though, what I saw yesterday across social media was a lot of fear. People talking about deleting everything and going into hiding. Talking about just giving up and checking-out of society. Turning their backs on their beliefs and practices so they can blend into the “new norm” they see with the rise of the christian nationalist movement.

Fear

Fear is the control mechanism people have used to get others to bend and comply. It is used by the ruling class all the way down to the everyday person to manipulate and move people the way they want. Fear is how we give them control over us when we give in to it.

There is another side of fear though. We can use it to fuel the flame within ourselves and use it in defiance of those trying to instill it into us. Courage comes from fear – it is doing something, moving forward, in spite of the fear.

There is reason to fear. The words they actually spoke, the plan they actually wrote, and the followers who seem to truly believe these things in their heart and mind. The results have seemed to empower them, these views against people who are not like them, and the perceived right to “convert or get rid of them.”

Predator or Prey

The threat is real, and different groups of people feel it in different ways. I am not diminishing that at all, but we do have choices in how we face it and move through it.

If we allow Fear to dictate our actions then we are moving from a place of reaction. Fear clouds the mind. We can’t see everything clearly when we are in the mode of fear. We get fixated on one path forward and miss all the other options, many much better options that can produce more solid and safe results. It clouds our judgment of who is friend and foe, so we start looking at everyone and everything as a likely foe, further isolating ourselves and giving over more of our power. Fear is the mode of Prey, and why “rulers” use it as their primary weapon, to put your mind-set into one of Prey.

One of my Favorite Quotes on Fear

As I said before, there are many possibilities on the table but we do not know yet what they will actually do or how far they are willing to go. If we approach this from fear of all of it, putting our energy into trying to protect and fortify against all of it, you will spread yourself too thin and not be able to. We need to take the stance of Predator.

A Predator observes and watches first. It moves slowly, methodically, and with purpose. It knows all the possible paths forward but instead of acting on all of them, it waits to see the movement of of its prey. Right now it is time to watch closely, listen, and observe. As they show their hand, we plan and move to counter it.

This is a time to be observant, to watch, and to be prepared with different plans based upon the actions they decide to take, but not waste your energy until you know which way they are going to move.

In the Light, In the Shadows

There are going to be some who move in the spotlight and some who move in the shadows.

Depending on what our situation is, will determine how we choose to move. Some people only have to worry about their own safety and may choose outright public moving. Others may have small children or people they are responsible for and so will move in shadows. Some may be at slight risk, while others may have a greater risk. There is no right or wrong way here, because we each have our own situations.

It is not a time to judge one another, it is a time to support each other. Each of us will be moving in our own ways and with our own abilities.

We Have Been Here Before

I spoke about Ancestors being heavily present this year and I think it is because of where we are right now. As they have said to me “We have been here before.”

All these situations and possibilities going on right now have happened before. Our Ancestors have lived through this before in a variety of ways. I believe they are so very present right now because of this reason. To help support and guide us through this Storm.

Many people who we may feel are “against us” may not be. Let’s be honest, Fear has been a 24/7 tool for a long time on media and social media platforms. Most of what is driving people’s movements and choices is fear. Fear is channeled into hate, and then hate turns into divides. Then we end up where we are right now – divided. Which is exactly where a ruling class wants their subjects. Because if they are too busy fighting each other, they are not paying attention to the real threats and moves of that ruling class.

There are no easy answers here. Our divisions feel much deeper than before. Seeing a “common ground” can feel impossible.

At the end of the day we are all human. We all have the same basic needs and desires. We just differ on what we feel the problems are and what the solutions need to be. If the threat of violence, destruction, and placing others into servitude wasn’t on the table, it wouldn’t feel so desperate right now. They are though, and we as humans have been here before. A cycle we keep repeating.

Government

There are a lot of issues in the way our Democratic Republic is set up. It may have been needed back when it was created, times and technology have changed, yet not the out-dated systems. Unfortunately, those changes have to be made by the same people who benefit from them.

We do not need an electoral college – let every vote count, every state count, so the politicians have to look at all our issues, instead of just pandering to a few.

End lobbying – It is just a way for those with money to buy votes, instead of the politicians doing the job of representing their actual constituents.

Make the pay of every congress person the median income of their state, and make them live within that during their term – I bet they start raising the wage and lowering cost of living then.

Age limits and term limits for all of them. I’m sorry, but an 80 year old has no clue of the struggles that a 20 year old has today. Things change, society changes, culture changes, technology changes, and needs change.

One Issue Bills – One issue, one bill, then vote on the issue. To take it even further, release that bill to public, let the public tell their representative their opinion on it (or vote) and then have the representative actually represent that view.

There are many other changes that could be made/ implemented but these are just some starting points. If we, as a country, as a people and from both sides of this divide, actually start heavily pushing these kinds of changes together, not only can we find some common ground to start healing but also hope for a better country on the whole.

In the End

Community is complicated. Diversity and living with diverse cultures, ideas, and different opinions can be challenging. We can allow that to take us to a place of war and division, as it does again and again, or can try to shift and alter this repeating cycle in new ways.

I do not have the answers. I do know though what I am doing. I am taking the stance of the predator. I am going to observe, watch, and move depending how they move. I am going to ensure my communities and my family are prepared for the possibilities in different ways that they need for them. I will move in shadow and in light.

Most of all though, I am going to focus on the only things I can control – My voice, My actions, My choices, My emotions, and My thoughts. I am choosing how I move through this storm and what Towers I create within it.

My Ancestors are gathered in mass, because we have been here before. A cycle that we as humans keep repeating.

Your Existence is the Resistance