As I write this, Barack Obama is an hour away from becoming our next President. Looking out over the ocean of citizens, I am filled with elation at this new chance to heal our nation as well as the planet. The crowd is composed of every race, nationality, and ethnic group, yet we share one thing in common that makes us great. That trait is hope. A word bantered around in the campaign, but only now do we realize what it means.
This nation that has suffered for far too long, has at last gotten a second chance to make things right and have the world look to us as an example. A chance to have all our voices heard in a quest for balance and healing from the last eight years of darkness. After such a prolonged period without hope and light, stepping into that bright light of the future and hopes held high, our eyes hurt and we will feel pain. But the pain passes and we are left stunned by the sheer magnitude of what we’ve done in electing this man and his wife.
We have made history. Forty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr announced to the world, “I have a dream.” Now a part of that dream has been embraced by Americans, who hope and pray that this president will help lead them to a better way of life; one where there are possibilities instead of obstacles, a land of opportunity, not overwhelming greed. It goes without saying that this road is not going to be easy, nor will the mistakes made in the past be overturned in a few years.
The road ahead is filled with stumbling blocks, racial hatred and other things that may hold us back. But only temporarily, my friends. We were taught that as Americans, if we come together as we did in the Second World War, there is nothing we cannot accomplish, no matter the odds. Although that victory cost us many lives, we prevailed and Hitler and his machinations to rule with an iron fist, came to an end. Now we have embarked on a path that if followed will give all of us – not just the rich and powerful – an America we can all be proud of. Once again a place where we can tell the world, “Yes, I’m an American” and not feel shame or embarrassment.
It is time to hold our heads up as well as our ethics and ideals, and say to all: “This is what we can do !” And by the God and Goddess, we will do it and in so doing make all right again. The crowd at this inaguration believe it, and believe it deeply. The cynics out there say that the people that elected Obama are hopeless dreamers and idealists. That is wrong. We are hopeful dreamers. For the sin is not in dreaming, but in surrender to the poisonous thought that things can never change. That change is to be feared. If we believed that, then we’d still be afraid of fire and living in caves. I’ll be the first to admit that change is not easy, but it IS neccessary. The alternative is stagnation and death.
If we try to change this country for the better, if we can maintain our belief in our ability, we can change anything, even ourselves. As a dreamer and Witch, I have seen firsthand the power of thought and it is an awesome spectacle indeed. So believe and share the dream with the rest of us, and keep your hope alive like a spark of life. With all of us breathing on that spark, it will expand and burn brightly, shredding the darkness that has enshrouded us for so long. That flame will burn away the hatred and light our way to the future.
All we have to do is believe in it enough to follow it to it’s end. Yes, it is a difficult path, but the easy path has always been the one lined with subtle traps for the foolisih and unwary. And we are neither; not any more. We are Americans with one vision seen through many eyes, which is what we should have been all along. Above all do not doubt ! Remember that fear is the worst enemy, and for that just remember the following and all will be well:
Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
It is a time of total trust and I, ever hopefull, will trust in my own inner wisdom as you must trust in yours. Together we can do it. We must do it. Blessed Be !