I'm thinking tonight about struggles. This year has been a struggle for me on multiple planes. Choices I've made, my attitude about things, my search for a deeper understanding of myself, and my inherent stubbornness to push through or hold on ever tighter even when I know, deep down, that it is not the right path for me have all contributed, no doubt. But there have also been governing forces beyond my control that have contributed as well. Call it fate. Call it luck. Call it what you like, but I just call it life. My story is no different than anyone else's, I know. We all face struggles, each of us, each and every day. It is how we cope with those struggles that make us the individuals we are. I would have to admit that I don't always deal with these issues as well as I could. I get tired of fighting. I get frustrated. I get downright angry at times. But, in the end, I realize that life without struggle is no life at all. We must all endure struggles in our lives to appreciate those brief and rare glimpses of good when they come along. While I sometimes resent this part of my journey, it is in these times of stress that I garner my strength and determination, and I refine the diamond-in-the-rough that I am a little more each day. 

In the aftermath of this heated political season, I am perplexed and deeply saddened at the intense division in a nation once known for its ability to practice acceptance, tolerance, and to band together regardless of the circumstance. Brother against brother. Friend against friend. Child against parent. (sounds like something I read in a book once.) We no longer seem to target a common enemy, but rather chose to make enemies of those who we not so long ago held dear.

I have read with increasing alarm comments posted on Facebook degrading others for their beliefs. I have watched as people ripped each other apart for the sake of being heard, all the while hiding behind the premise of "debate". Whatever happened to the right that ALL American's possess, and all human beings as well, to believe the way they want? I should not have to be brow-beaten into submission because my views differ from yours. This, my friends, is insane, barbaric, and simply unacceptable.

My own son used the fact that, although I worked two jobs to support my family, I had to have public assistance in the form of Food Stamps and public subsidized housing to support his political views that social programs are perpetuating poverty, ignorance, and a nation of "lazy" individuals who subsist on handouts at the expense of those who are fortunate enough to make enough money to avoid having to have help. While I respect his right to voice his opinion, what my son failed to state however, is how, as a parent, being in a situation where you are unable to support your family, despite working 17 hours a day, seven days a week, eats away at your soul. He failed to mention that I didn't even know such help was available until after my children were born and I was responsible for not only myself, but for them as well. Asking for assistance was not something that I wanted to do, in other words, but it was necessary to ensure that my children had a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. At least I cared enough about my family to put aside my pride and ask for help. Some children are not so fortunate.

Enough of that ....What is the past is simply the past. We, as a nation, have spoken. The choice has been made, for better or worse, and we can now either choose to be part of the solution or continue to be part of the problem. Arrogance, ignorance, and intolerance toward others will only hasten the decline of this great country. Whether we agree with all the policies and visions of our elected officials, regardless of the level, they are our leaders - the ones, not insignificantly, that WE, through our means of democracy and freedom, put in the positions of power they currently hold.

The choice is ours to make. What legacy will we leave behind for our children? Will we liken this moment in history to the Civil War or to WWII? From the evidence currently presenting, it is a grave prospect indeed ...

The wind through the willows
softens my heart and quiets this restless soul.
I feel its sweet kiss upon my skin
as it hurries on its way.
I wonder what stories the wind would tell
if only it could.
the places it has been,
the things it has seen.
it whispers, if only to my broken soul,
it's secrets
and I, its avid student,
listen.