Hello Friend,

Grieving isn’t always for someone we lost, a love that faded, or a future we didn’t reach. Sometimes, it’s for something we hoped would be true. If you’re feeling that heaviness, that grief in your bones over the 2024 election, know this: you are not alone. The grief is real, and it’s okay to let it in. Feel the weight of your hopes and the visions you had for a country where kindness, compassion, and justice hold the steering wheel. There’s no need to push this grief away.

Grief has its own rhythm, a pace that cannot be rushed. It might feel tempting to move quickly, to get past the sadness and frustration, to find closure and feel okay again. But grief asks something different of us—it asks us to be present, to sit with what is raw and real. It invites us to feel the disappointment deeply and fully. In doing so, we honor our hopes and acknowledge the visions we held close. There is no right timeline for moving through this, no rush to make sense of it. Just allow yourself to rest in this feeling, to honor the depth of what you wanted and what now feels uncertain. Grief isn’t something we fix; it’s something we live through, step by step, breath by breath.

Embracing Surrender

As we allow this grief to unfold, another possibility begins to emerge: what if, instead of resisting, we opened ourselves to something new? It may feel radical or even impossible, but there is quiet power in surrender. I remember learning this lesson firsthand in graduate school. I was driven, a “give it my all,” “get it done,” perfectionist. My instinct was to control every outcome. But in our class ceremonies, a deeper truth was revealed to me: my greatest opportunity for growth was in surrender.

Surrendering doesn’t mean giving up or abandoning what matters; it’s the courage to trust that, even in the darkest hour, something greater may be at work. When I let go of my tight grip on how things should go, I discovered liberation, a lightness within myself. It was like an invitation to step into a freer way of being. Perhaps, just perhaps, allowing this presidency to unfold without resistance could create a reckoning—a transformative clearing, like a wildfire tearing through a forest.

The Devestation & Opportunity of a Wildfire

Fires are brutal. They ravage, dismantle, and destroy what seems irreplaceable. Yet in their wake, the land begins to heal. Fresh life springs up through the ashes, stronger and more resilient. Surrendering to this moment might feel like stepping into the fire, but perhaps it’s also the beginning of something new.

Consider this: the forest doesn’t resist the fire, nor does it lose hope. It endures the burn, releasing what is no longer meant to remain. From the smoldering ground, new life emerges, stronger and more resilient. Likewise, we can hold onto what we believe in, but still surrender to what is, finding peace within the storm.

Our Quiet Strength

Surrender is not the same as passive acceptance. It’s a quiet strength, a commitment to holding onto the vision of a future we believe in, even while letting go of control over how we get there. Remember that our roots are deep. The foundation is there, even if, right now, it feels shaky and painful. This fire may burn, and it may be a very long burn, but we are the seeds that will grow again, stronger and more determined than before.

Let yourself grieve. But as you grieve, know that this, too, will transform. Grief is a cleansing fire. And you are more resilient than you know. Out of this devastation, life will bloom again.