Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. - Rumi

A lot of people are going to be feeling overwhelmingly bad today. Many will need to focus on their own self-care. That is all well and good and it’s important to tend to your own needs. For those who are able, however, this time may also present a good opportunity to look inward.

I’m sure that there are a lot of emotions being raised in people right now. Most likely, these include frustration, maybe some disbelief, even fear. Such emotions can easily lead to anger. And when feeling angry, we can often externalize our anger towards other people. It’s important to remember that our happiness is ultimately in our own hands. It’s important to be mindful here, curiously introspective, to better understand how our emotions are leading to our present state of suffering. And in this way we can perhaps improve ourselves a bit, and thereby do our little part to improve the state of the world.

Examples of situation where our frustrations may rise to the level of anger that may then be directed towards others include:

• slow service
• poor traffic conditions
• encounters with family/roommates/pets
• delayed mail/package/food delivery

The truth is that the world and our societies are ever changing. A less depressing recent outcome would only be a temporary stay against future regressions, just as this latest outcome will ultimately be temporary in the larger arc of time. In other words, the struggle will continue regardless, and it’s therefore important to be ever vigilant whether today ends in a win or in a loss. But that vigilance needs to also be focused inwardly on ourselves, for that is where true change occurs.

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. - Yoda

---