Gotta Be Above It........Why I wrote this blog

April 2, 2025

“Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In that space is our power to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth and our freedom”.     Viktor Frankl

This blog site offers the opportunity to pause and rest in this space where we can reflect, discern, and make choices, which is why I am calling my blog, HOLDING SPACE.

For that is exactly what it is - a space, a pause if you will. I think the space/pause is necessary before we make responses and choices, so we don’t just kneejerk react.  It is an opportunity to slow down and reflect.

I do believe this is part of what is missing for many of us. As a country as we have been catapulting headlong in a blitzing of mammoth changes in our government and identity as a country. We must do better in order to ponder, really ponder what is happening around us. 

As my very wise son said to me, "Mom, we “gotta be above it”.  This blog serves as a platform for just that…getting above the chaos, the frenzy, our biases....for sharing personal experiences, uplifting narratives and encouragement. I am committed to creating a safe and supportive space for individuals who choose to navigate and discern change and seek hope in our chaotic times.

MY CONFESSIONAL TIME:  So let me tell you how I got to this place of deciding to offer a blog site as a place to simply slow down and reflect.

When Trump was elected last November, I honestly felt an immediate OVERWHELMING sense of grief. I did not understand all the whys of this immobilizing grief. It totally caught me off guard.  It was a type of sorrow that made it difficult to take deep breaths, leaving you feeling weakened and trapped. It was confusing. No one had died. But it felt like something had died and I just knew that breathing was hard. Really hard.

Throughout the campaign, to prepare for an informed vote, I read a great deal and tried to pay attention to what was said by military personnel, attorneys, physicians, educators, economists, Republicans, Independents, Democrats, national security experts, former Trump staff and persons who knew both candidates, etc.  I listened to all the news channels. I read Project 2025. I read speeches and listened to both candidates.

Realizing neither candidate was a perfect fit and each had their own flaws, I got clear as to whom I felt was most capable to lead our county. And then came the election. And the grief that followed. I was scared of the intensity of my grief and realized I needed to be still. Listen. Pray.

In the stillness, my mind struggled. I hoped I was wrong. I hoped Trump would move into the presidency for the second time more aware and more concerned for all our citizens.

Instead, I witnessed what felt like the demise of our democracy and persecution of any who got in Trump’s way. My grief stopped freefalling. It now had a name.

During these last two months since the inauguration of Trump, we have all witnessed massive change in our country. Our identity, our allies, our national security, our checks and balances, our compassion, our global relationships, our most vulnerable, our ecological well-being, etc. have all taken enormous hits. My grief has moved into anger and fear.

I do NOT do well to live in an angry fearful state of mind. And so much reflection and prayer began to take effect. With that came new questions.

So, what can I do?  What can you do? What can we do?

Throughout this period, I received numerous personal emails and Facebook Messenger messages expressing concern and regret about feeling misled by the campaign. People feel divided, uncertain, and hesitant to discuss their thoughts openly. They worry that friends, loved ones, or spouses might distance themselves if they reveal their doubts about their voting choice. I have heard from so many who are desperate for hope...hope of direction, hope of future, hope of any kind of unity. knew I had to act.

So, I am.

I am actually doing a number of things, but one of the things I am doing is to offer a Space to breathe…to remember who we are…to find hope....to not just knee jerk react, but to reflect in order to take action.

I will invite guest writers to address this space and I also invite those who of you who are reading HOLDING SPACE to send me your thoughts. I promise to read them and respond.

My friends, we NEED a place/a space where we can slow it down and not be held by blind loyalty to any side, but to what we believe and discern is right. We need to remember who we are. We need to trust ourselves…our understanding of decency, identity, values. We need to learn lessons from our choices…in order to make healthy choices in this complex time.

I invite you to join me in this journey of hope, resilience, and support.

BE WELL. BREATHE. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.