Well, it’s finally here – election day. I don’t kid myself into believing by tonight we’ll know who our next president is. That’s just not going to happen. And yet this morning I feel a strange quietness about the whole thing – the process, the result, the reform that has become so apparently necessary. I think there will be turmoil in this land. And for the first time since the Vietnam War, I feel I could quite easily leave here and live in a different country – not that there is any country without its faults. And the reality is that with our family here, it’s not very likely to happen. So I suspect I will ride out the storm no matter its shape and vehemence. I do know that in the future I will not be so reticent to offer my beliefs – if asked, verbally – if unasked, in writing. In fact, in the novel I’m working on currently for this year’s Nano, I’m figuring out ways to weave in political sentiment. I can see now that it is a part of our daily life whether we consciously focus on it or not. For example, purchases at the grocery are made on the basis of need, visual appeal and cost. The producers of those goods have designed them to appeal – to get my vote -so they can acquire sufficient money to stay in business and hopefully live a life style they enjoy. The prime motivation in the end is financial gain, and as long as we live in a society driven by the need and desire for financial prowess, then the Donald Trumps of the world will strive for power. Until the welfare of the people becomes the primary goal, we are doomed by the system we support daily. I am as guilty as the next guy, and I really have no right to complain too loudly. Instead, I will attempt to reform myself through my meditative practice that I may reap what I sow.