A Good Push in the Direction of Our Better Angels

Writing in this morning’s New York Times is Sanford D. Greenberg. No, you’re not supposed to know who he is, but I’ll tell you. He lived next door to Ruth Bader Ginsberg at the Watergate for forty years.  

Mr. Greenberg writes, “… a beautiful soul like Ruth’s never really leaves us and that what Ruth stood so powerfully for—a more just nation, the civil exchange of views and a dedication to democratic governance—is more needed and threatened than ever before. 

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg knew for certain that history bent in the direction of our better angels, but also knew that sometimes circumstances are such that history needs a good push. And she helped give it that nudge time and again in her life and career.” 

If you voted, Beloved, you did your part. That was your nudge. 

What to do today? (And for the foreseeable future till we know who won.) 

Let me tell you a story. 

I knew a woman years ago who wrote books about First Ladies of the United States, FLOTUS, in security-speak. Most of her books, because of the insatiable curiosity of Americans about our leaders’ lives, were bestsellers.  

One particular book, the one she was in the middle of writing, just didn’t seem, to her, to be bestseller material. She went on a colossal fret. Worry. Fear. Self-Doubt. Every kind of self-sabotage you can imagine, and I’m sure, some you can’t. 

Finally, after months, I had had it up to here with her fussing, and I said quite exasperatedly, “Why don’t you have a bestseller until it isn’t, sweetie?” 

Same here. In this situation. 

Why not be sure your side, whichever one it is, has won, until it hasn’t? 

Consciousness, Beloved, has an inevitable effect on things. 

Expect to win, and quite often, you do. 

Expect to lose, and quite often, you do. 

The best action, till we know the true outcome of this election, is gratitude.  

Yes, really.  

Be grateful that we live in a place where we get to vote.  

Be grateful that everyone is safe in the voting process.  

Be grateful that every vote is counted.  

Be grateful for the checks and balances that the Founders put in place in our governance—no matter how skewed they are right now. 

Gratitude is an activity that fills the heart, Beloved. 

And whilst you’re there, try to imagine a future where our better angels are in charge once again, and a more just nation, the civil exchange of views, and a dedication to democratic governance is restored for our present, and for the future yet to come. 

I, for one, believe that R.B.G. is watching over this country of ours even now amidst a bevy of our better angels. Let’s do this to honor her remarkable contribution to our country. 

Dr. Susan Corso is a spiritual teacher, the founder of iAmpersand, and the author of The Mex Mysteries, the Boots & Boas Books, and spiritual nonfiction. Her website is susancorso.com.