Embracing other

For some reason my cat decided to participate in my meditation this morning. And as I sat at the dining room table with him curled in my lap, one paw tucked trustingly into my hand, his nose buried in my elbow and the vibration of his purr warming my belly, it occurred to me that this election -- and its aftermath -- has been, and will be, about embracing other.

I'm hoping, now the election is over, that we will find a way to reach across the aisles; that those in power will learn to listen rather than to shout, and to put the needs of many above the vested interests of the few.

I liked the words of JFK, which someone posted on Facebook this morning: "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past, but let us accept our own responsibility for the future." I'm hoping that future will allow us to step away from the polarization that has characterized this country in recent years and to begin to work again for unity, and for the values so beautifully expressed in the Declaration of Independence all those years ago...