OuterBliss: No Matter Who Wins You Can Still...

May we find some peace today. (Photo from Buffalo)

Listening to: This is the only song I could possibly post today (sorry that it's a repeat).

Bliss: The end of campaign phone calls and junk mail and tv ads and anger, and perhaps the beginning of a new era? We can always hope...

Today, I will be watching internet streaming video and checking websites far too much. No matter what I tell myself, I know I will not wait until this evening to begin the news gorge. (Visual: Me sitting, with forks in both hands, streaming numbers dripping from my large-as-a-trough plate and newspeak on the corners of my mouth -- and stuck in my braces, I'm sure.

No matter what I tell myself, I am way more emotionally invested in the results of this momentous day than I have ever been. I am a Reagan baby, meaning he is the first president I have real memories of. He was the first president about whom I had opinions, and during his second term, I was in college so, luckily, my idea of him went from what my parents had told me to what I myself believed.

But since him and since the disappointment that was Bill Clinton, I have barely cared.

On some level I still barely care, because as you know, I think individual action is much more important than slow, slumping, sluggish government. The presidency, in particular, is like a large, lumbering, old automobile, and no matter who is driving it, it still can only go so fast and do so many hills.

I pride myself on being a skeptic but not a cynic. I think cynicism tends to be a weakness of the mind, a mind that has decided it's just too much to ask for it to be creative and come up with solutions. But when it comes to government, I cross the line from skeptic to cynic.

That is why today is so important: because my heart pitter-patters at the thought, at the hope, that I may become, once again, a believer in this democratic experiment, a member of the Choir of Liberty & Justice & All That.

But I reign that hope in, because it has been dashed so often that it whimpers and crouches when you open the door to its cage. Yet, I am opening the door today, for the first time in a very long time, and I hope that tonight's results act as a steaming hot plate of yummy that entices my inner puppy back out into the world, ready to romp and play and enjoy the sun.

But wait! The cynic is still there and she is snarling. There is still time for it all to go wrong. Think of 2004, she hiss-whispers, be prepared for the worst.

Okay, that seems reasonable. Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best, right?

Here's my suggestions for you, dear reader, and for my inner, sad, whipped puppy: No matter who wins today, there will be hardships ahead and there will be joys and there is still the power of the individual.

So, no matter who wins today, you can still...

Get more involved and do it locally. Figure out what the real, unsolved problems of your community are and challenge yourself and your circle of friends to get creative, to move beyond the grief, if need be, and move into solutions. Work outside the traditional circles of power; create networks of caring, thoughtful, smart people and do something! Anything!

Think about creating a Giving Circle with female friends. Just get ten or twenty people together and decide upon an amount that each of you could contribute monthly. Even if it's just ten dollars a person a month at twenty people in your giving circle, that's $2,400. Think about finding a women's shelter to contribute to. That money may not seem like a lot, but take it from someone who has worked with the homeless and for a peace organization -- nothing is too little and every bit helps.

Seek out local artists and crafts people from whom you can buy gifts. Seek out local for any buying needs. A dollar spent locally is worth much more than 100 cents. I can't remember the number, but that dollar has a much bigger monetary impact than if it were sent out of town.

Reevaluate your own needs in light of the impact on the earth. Drive less. Re-use more. Investigate how to heat and cool your home differently.

Start planning next year's garden now. Plant food stuff, yes, but don't forget the flowers. Your bee and bird and butterfly friends will all thank you. There's nothing quite like planning gardens to keep you hopeful.

Decrease your negative news intake. This is a good rule to follow ... forever! Not just at election time. Seek out positive news outlets; let yourself see the good in the world.

Stop watching traditional TV. The idea is to get rid of the commercials -- they create a sense of lack and we don't need any more of that. Go to the library and get DVD's. Our library carries so much TV on DVD that we are constantly entertained. Stop your junk mail; get rid of the catalogs -- and I'm not saying this because of paper (though that is a reason) but, again, because of the psychological impact.

Live a life of dreams and beauty and daring and risk and fragility and strength and challenge and grace and elegance and splendor and integrity and grandeur and culture and intellect and aspiration and craving and tenacity and courage and much, much more.

Like I said, no matter who wins. Even if you are celebrating the results, that doesn't excuse us from activities and changes like the ones above. We are still responsible for the quality of our lives and the lives of our communities. It is still completely up to us.

And I know you're up to it, being a BlissChick and all. Which brings us to the most important thing you can ever do: be the change; live your bliss. Do what you love and care about most, and it will create ripples so far around you that you won't be able to see where they end.