Gratefully, one kind of noise has stopped – the endless commentary and worry about who is ahead in the polls and who might win the Presidential election. Fortunately, the noise of congratulations for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris can mostly drown out the cries from Trump that somehow the election was stolen from him.   

Last week in my post, I suggested a week off from news and our favorite commentators to make room to listen for America’s true Spirit. I grossly underestimated the need for quiet and the challenge of finding our shared Spirit!

For Biden supporters, it is a humbling victory that brings relief. For Trump supporters, I imagine it brings increased fear for the future of America.  I say I “imagine” because I truly don’t know. I do talk to friends who supported Trump and have listened to commentary and analyses of the voting. But the size of the Trump vote, in the largest turnout for a presidential election in American history, remains astonishing and mystifying to me.

Nearly half the people in America who voted – over 70 million people – ignored the President’s personality, his well-documented inability to speak the truth, his disdain for people of color and people not like him and a long litany of missteps. None of that mattered.

A classic 60’s movie – Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman of salad dressing fame – had an oft repeated and memorable line: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Ain’t that the truth!

Yes, the election results in 2016 were stunning and sobering. Not happening this time, we were assured. President Trump predicted a red wave on election day. People like me thought it was a serious case of wishful thinking. It wasn’t.

Clearly, we have some work to do to find our shared values and larger Spirit. That Spirit has to be bigger than our fears and our inability to listen, connect and work for shared goals.

When I am frightened, I have a hard time listening. I am not open to new possibilities. I am committed, even obsessed sometimes, with holding on to something or getting my way.

The electoral map of America makes clear our divide. Solid red for much of the country except the coasts and the new and fragile Blue wave. To find our shared Spirit and values, we will need to pay attention to an oft repeated prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi which suggests we “…Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

While a noble goal, I don’t think we can try to understand the people of the red wave without a personal and collective pause and surrender.

My oldest son coaches baseball and basketball for his kids. He has brought into everyday life a saying I find very helpful and comforting. Whether it’s a hitter waiting for a pitch or a basketball player passing until the open shot appears, “wait for it” is his mantra. I think his use of the mantra predates the song of that title sung by Aaron Burr in Hamilton.  In any case, when my son sees one of his kids frustrated or losing it, he calmly says, “Wait for it.”

I now find myself saying “wait for it” when I get frustrated about something at home or in our national drama. “Wait for it!” Pause, give yourself a time out. Listen to the Spirit inside that wants good for me and for all. I do believe in such a Spirit. In fact, for me, when we talk about the best of America’s Spirit, it is that desire and hunger in each for good for ourselves, our family and all peoples.

The post-Trump transition is going to last a long time. It will require a lot of each of us to move from open hostility to civility and tolerance. It will also require some courageous actions by all of us to learn to live together in new ways. When spiritual writer and activist Richard Rohr talks about the Center for Contemplation and Action, he is fond of saying that the most important word in the name is “AND.”

We need a time out to get centered AND let the noise quiet. Listening to our individual best Spirit gives us more capacity to understand each other and find shared values and common goals to advance. Such collaboration is how we find the best spirit in each other.