One of my favorite thinkers once said, “Reality is what you run into when you’re wrong.”
Well, we’ve been running into a bunch of reality over the past week.
We thought transfers of power in the US would always be peaceful, if not civil. We were wrong. We’ve seen unprecedented chaos.
We thought democracy was a foregone conclusion. We were wrong. Democracy is fragile.
We thought all of the partisans on the “other side” would act without principle. We were wrong. Several leaders from both parties have acted nobly, even selflessly.
We thought all of the partisans on “our side” would act in the best interest of the country. We were wrong. Given the chance for magnanimity, to rise above cheap shots and partisan antics, some of our leaders have taken a pass.
Reality matters. Otherwise we’re prone to believe lies about ourselves, others, and the world around us. And anyone who believes enough lies becomes brittle instead of having resilience. They can’t bounce back after reality knocks them on their rear end.
Not you. You know that this moment is one where you can let reality issue you a wake-up call. You may be stunned for a moment, but then you start to see more clearly. You learn. You adjust.
And then you get back to your most important job, being that safe and sane person in a chaotic world for the people around you.
