113: And I Hope

As a homesteader, a lot of my audience is conservative. As a fiction author in an artist community, most of the people surrounding me are liberal. I have friends and family all over the political spectrum so from both a professional and a personal perspective, it's been interesting to maneuver life the past week listening to the comments, arguments, and opinions from both sides. My answer to all of this, as if little ol' me has the answer, is a piece I wrote called And I Hope. I hope it applies to you whether you live in America or not. I hope it applies to you no matter who you voted for, if anyone at all. I hope it is something you can listen to or read as a pause or a breath or an opportunity to reflect on your focus—and fine tune things if necessary.  You can read it below as an itty bitty thought or you can press play above to listen to it as a podcast. The main topic starts at minute marker 5:24.   Listen to the podcast episode by pressing the play button on the black bar above. All episodes are linked under the podcast tab that you can find way at the top of this post in my menu bar.  You can also listen and subscribe to my Farmish Kind of Life podcast at all popular podcast players.    Here are the things I hope for you today and tomorrow and all of your days.   I hope if someone wants to listen to Christmas music really early because it makes them smile that you let them. I hope that you have a friend who can eat all the black jelly beans that you don’t like. I hope you have enough yarn to finish your hat I hope you have enough hot water for a really long shower  I hope you can remember all the items you needed at the store even if you forgot your list and I hope that when you smile at the cashier, they look up and smile back.   I hope all those things, and other things too like I hope that right now you can act like an adult because kids are watching I hope that you don’t let two people who don’t even know your name come between you and the people who do. I hope you don’t completely surround yourself with people who think exactly like you. I hope you know the issue isn’t social media. I hope you’re always thinking about and searching for a better way to do things. I hope you understand that how you acted before the election and how you acted after say more about you than how you voted, if you voted at all.   I hope you know that people don’t need to know where you stand on an issue, they need to know how you stand as a person. I hope you realize the loudest person in a group doesn’t usually speak for the majority of the group, the loudest person is just really loud. I hope you’re not living for conflict. I hope you’re not driving the conflict. And if you are, I hope you get tired of it I hope you fail to find a payoff for it And I hope you stop.   I hope you realize that in a nation so divided, no one wins. I hope you understand there is a difference between unity and conformity. I hope you know this is not an apocalyptic novel and I hope you know this is not a fairy tale. I hope you understand this is actual real life and I hope you realize that nothing that little ol you or me does or doesn’t do today will even be seen by the mainstream media or the individuals who ran for office. But it will be seen by the people who live with you, By the people who do life with you. By the people who will be affected by what you do or don’t do.   So I hope you have a friend over for a fried chicken dinner. I hope you take two hours to talk on the phone when someone calls and just can’t handle it anymore. I hope you realize there are bellies to tickle and leaves to rake up and cookies to bake. I hope you know there are mugs of coffee to be poured and quilts to snuggle under and love to be made.