This is a time for focus.

To those of you whom I know are just as frustrated and upset as I am with how chaotic, hateful, divisive, vengeful, vindictive, unpatriotic, and fear-inducing these first ten days have been:

First, know that I love you, I see you, and I hear you. I know many of you are angry, and many of you are scared.

I get it. I feel that way sometimes, too.

And.

Every time this man says something designed to spread fear or hatred or division…

Every time he knowingly tries to deceive the country into believing that the principles this nation was founded on should only apply to people who looked like the founding fathers, or people who look like him today…

Every time he tries to manipulate people and take advantage of our cable news and social media driven short attention spans by misappropriating words that are meant to describe various aspects of positive change, redefining them to make people who are afraid also angry and animated, weaponizing them to force well-intentioned people to waste their time trying to show people that he’s lying to them, using them to confuse us all…

Every time I think about how he can’t help himself but to use every opportunity, including tragedy, to justify his own existence and avoid scrutiny for his own actions, as he has done this day, even as the bodies were being pulled out of the Potomac…

Every time I think about those things, I take a pause. I breathe. And I think about what I can and cannot control.

And I pray for serenity and courage and wisdom. And I listen.

And then I focus.

I focus more on “we,” and less on “us” vs. “them.”

I focus on speaking truth to power with love, justice, empathy, and accountability.

I focus on writing the words that those with less privilege or power or access long to express for themselves.

I focus on helping leaders who want to see and hear what they need to, rather than what they want to. So they can build better experiences for all.

I focus on building bridges, connecting with and listening to people I don’t agree with, and helping them do the same with others.

I focus on loving God (my Higher Power) as I understand God, my neighbors, and myself.

I focus on helping organizations I serve build bridges, close gaps, and remove barriers so that all the people THEY serve have the same opportunities to thrive as those who were born into resources, or whose identities, backgrounds and zip codes afford them more opportunities to achieve.

I focus on finding the middle ground — one that transcends our politics, our division, our othering. One that is solid, not soft or shifting, so that the bridges we build there will not crumble under the weight of our journey.

I focus on seeing the commonalities in our various human experiences with as many as I can.

I focus on helping the vulnerable when and where I can.

I focus on my calling for people to experience hope and revelation through me.

And then I get back to work.

And that is what I invite you to do. Do what you can do. Focus on what you can control. Don’t give in to fear or hatred or let them consume you. Feel it, yes. And then release.

Breathe. Rest. Breathe again.

Then focus.

Then get back to work, making the lives of your family, your community, your neighbors, and yourself better, in whatever way you can. We are here to help one another along this way, and help one another we shall.

I love you. I mean it. ❤️🙏🏽😊