Dear Friends,
I got your level of shock....for what its worth this is how I've handled it so far:
I too was stunned. I went through Kubler-Ross's five stages of grieving from Denial to Anger to Rationalizing to Depression and finally Acceptance in about ten hours. Had a two-hour session with my "Dwelling" group and was pleased that I've apparently grown in my capacity to sustain a positive mood in difficult or bad times. So I am more or less calm and centered. With this has come my giving up the endless negative assessments of Trump himself which serve no purpose. He is now a fact of life and there's not much point to continually carp on how awful he is....likewise I've more or less put aside the scripts in my head of all the scenarios about what horrible things he can or will do. I am basically appreciating Hillary's concession speech and standing in being a citizen. I despise the outcome, but love democracy more.
I've now recovered my appreciation that America is still America including its brilliance and its flaws and we've been through a lot darker moments than this. I've also grown to appreciate that this is the first time in my life that my 'world' has been turned upside down personally. 9-11 was close but didn't touch me personally as this has. My father lived through WWII and the Great Depression which clearly had people put their lives on hold with no guarantees that they'd get through it. 2/3 of Humanity live under governments and despots far worse than anything Trump can cook up. We are still a nation of laws with many checks and balances. Half the nation still share my views more or less and I am privileged to be one of the elites. So I will wait and watch and try to stay open. IF he tries to create a private army or tries to have muslims wear arm bands then perhaps I will bail out.....
I broke down emotionally on the phone with my 'existential friends' not for fear of the future but for the loss of my 'progressive' vision which in retrospect I can see how blind, how self-righteous, how smug, how arrogant I have been in disparaging almost any Republican and for sure anyone who might see Trump as someone to vote for. I wasn't listening and until after the election I didn't get their concerns.
Now we need to have emotional fortitude.
History and life doesn't move in a straight line.
We need not fall prey to the Ghosts of our Humanity.
Today I am moving forward in a conversation with my 'higher power' and saying the serenity prayer more often. I don't know what will happen and am choosing to approach tomorrow in the spirit of an adventure - akin to crossing the plains in a covered wagon. We're living history now and creating history as we go. I am still reflecting on how I might participate, but in the mean time am choosing to love what's great about our country and that no one can destroy and also I am appreciating and grateful for my communities (including the Souls) and committed to care for those I love.
I will not give my personal power to or become a victim of Trump or anyone. I am doing my best to practice what I preach in terms of consciously trying to choose how I will relate to coming events including letting go of my historical addictions - especially my expectations and prejudices of how I think life should be.
Thanks for sharing and asking the question of how we are handling all of this......