I do not think I am overstating it when I say these last months, weeks, days have been hard.

Emotions have run so high.

Anxiety feels ever-present.

Political discussions are super-charged and feel more volatile than they should.

The transition of power at the highest level of our government felt fraught with danger and uncertainty.

So, I wonder how you are feeling. I really do. I wish I could sit down with each one of you and listen to you tell me how you are doing.

How you are REALLY doing.

I wonder if we are feeling some of the same things.

I am struggling to focus on even the smallest of tasks.

Things that would ordinarily take minimal effort often feel monumental and demand all the positive self-talk I can muster.

I dread checking the news for fear of some jarring headline that makes the world feel less solid.

And then I judge myself for feeling this way. I self-critique. I try to take myself by my own collar and shake myself into being more strong, more secure, more grounded. More something.

But I have been working on self-acceptance; on being less aggressive with myself.

And it has been helping.

I am learning to accept that every day I will experience a range of very normal emotions.

I am learning to accept that sometimes my body will simply "suggest" it is time to shut down. 

I am learning to accept my need for rest.

I am learning to accept that I am human; both frail and powerful.

I am learning to accept whatever comes next - whatever thought, whatever feeling, whatever bit of jarring news - without critique or judgement or effort.  I am trying not to label things as good or bad.

This is not fatalism ...

It is not an "it is what it is" form of shrugging off reality.

It is a gentle way of being faithful and trusting God.

It is a powerful method of facing life head-on.

It is a new way of being open and curious about what might come next.

It is a helpful way of welcoming life as it comes, rather than demanding life be as I want it to be.

It is a subversive way to show perfectionism the door.

Accept whatever comes today.

Trust God in this way.

See if that helps just a bit.