This seems to be a good term to describe my feelings in the wake of the election results. I am by no means in a state of consistency. I am ebbing a flowing through many emotions. However, those emotions are all effects of the current within me.

I, as many of us, expected different results. We thought that we had traveled the path of the sorrows, violence and separation for so long. As a spiritual director of a community during these last eleven years, I have had to stand and give messages relating to the incidents that were occurring weekly – shootings, war threats, discontent with politics and more. I know I do have something on which I can rely. It is the true kingdom within me and each and every one of us. I finally get Jesus’s statement “my kingdom is not of this world,”

I keep going deeper into that kingdom wherein lies my passion for life. I find my place and what is mine to do. I write, I sing, I heal, I speak my truth in an authentic way. I remain open to being guided and directed by my inner Voice of Truth. I realize I have more to learn. I realize I am still growing. I realize that as cliche as it might sound – Love is the answer. It is the answer for me – not to solve the world problems. The world’s problems are going through their own evolution which I feed into with my own consciousness. I must take care of myself first and from that place assist my brothers and sisters. No more silence, please. The nod of a head when someone says something that wreaks of separation and anger is no longer acceptable for me. We can agree to disagree, but we each must speak for compassion and kindness.

The ebb and flow that I am feeling is between hope and despair. I keep choosing hope. I know that Ernest Holmes, founder of the Religious Science movement said that hope is not a strong enough conviction. He called it a useless illusion, but he also said it is better than despair. For me, it is the beginning of the path back to “knowing.” Hope is better than despair and gives us a field to begin to console ourselves and to look to what is next for us. Hopes allows me to dive into my faith and strengthen it. It lets me know that on some level all is well.

I do believe that people are innately good. I do believe we all want to be happy and to feel safe. I do believe there is a path to unity. It begins with me seeing each person, whether they believe they way I do or not, as some part of God. God isn’t a man who decides what is going to happen and either blesses or curses us, nor is it a being that takes sides. God is all of us expressing and creating this world just as it is. The more I can stay on the side of passion, love and authenticity, the more I can contribute to the whole as God.

Prophecy tells us that this is the time of reckoning and that the wheat and the tares are being separated to one side or the other. I understand this, but it still seems like duality to me. There is only wheat and we can reveal it or let it die. There is only wholeness and oneness and we can either live it or cover it up. The Universe is one of harmony. If it weren’t it couldn’t exist. There is an ebb and flow to everything. God is evolving through each of us. We obviously aren’t there yet, but we are here. I just want to be able to say that I am doing the best I can to live the oneness and wholeness. What about you?

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Dr. Rita Andriello-Feren, Author and Spiritual Director CSL Kaua’i

PS: Check out Patrick and my interview on Global Focus Today…