May you be Wholehearted and Open-minded

Today may I be wholehearted and open-minded.

I asked people how they’re feeling about this very important day, the day our new President takes this oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Here’s what I heard:??

“I feel great.”??

“I am terrified.”??

“I’m sad.”??

“I’m excited.”??

“I am feeling angry.”??

“I’m okay.”

But the one response I didn’t hear today???

“I am feeling whole.”

It’s an answer I always hope for when I ask someone how they’re feeling. I know we feel many things at any given moment - that’s what makes us human. That’s why I think the healthiest answer for our layered, wondrous selves is to say “I’m feeling whole.”

Wholeness means we can hold all of who we are and what we feel. It means we have the capacity to integrate every joy, fear, and longing within us. Wholeness is something I believe we all want, and something I wish for everyone.

As a systems thinker, I often view the individual as a reflection of the larger system, organization, or even the country. Right now, in these United States, I don’t believe we can collectively say, “We’re whole.”

I know there are people around me who feel whole. Personally, I’ve been fortunate to have the tools, support, and space to balance, heal, and grow into my own wholeness when I slip into feeling fragmented. But I also know this is a privilege many don’t have.

Today, I want to believe that Trump is taking this oath with the intention of doing right by the job. But his style - his bullying, divisive behavior -gives me pause. It makes me concerned.??

And yet, on this day, I can still say: I am wholehearted and open-minded.

Many others cannot.

For those afraid their constitutional rights will be stripped away: I hear you.??

For those whose very identities have been threatened - those born outside the U.S., or some born in the United States, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women fighting for their bodies health and right to choose - I hear you. The headlines, the rhetoric, and the rush to exert power all feel dangerous.

So, I ask you, President Trump: Please take this oath seriously.

You are not signing up to make us mighty or best.??

You are not taking an oath to seize power.??

This oath is a solemn commitment to protect, preserve, and defend all the people.??

On this day, I am anxious for many. But I am also whole, wholehearted and open-minded.

I can say that because I have no intention of living silently in a country that represents only the wealthy, the white, the powerful, the masculine, or the Christian.

Do I trust my new President? My Senator? My Governor???

I don’t yet know if they will represent me.??

But I believe that behind the titles and positions are vulnerable human beings with a heart, doing what they think is right. Perhaps they act with the best intentions. But intentions are not enough. Intentions need to come with a whole heart.?

Our country is not a business. We are not just employees or isolated individuals.??

We are interconnected. Our strength lies in our differences, in our shared and unshared values, in our collective desire for freedom and possibility. That interconnectedness—that recognition of our unity—is what makes us whole.??

Until we understand that we can only be whole together, we will remain broken.

So today, I will say:? I am wholehearted.

I have the capacity, the support, and the means to hold space for our divided, polarized country. And that means I will cry, laugh, scream, and work to connect with as many hearts as I can.

I don’t know what Trump will do with this day. But as one of the people, I will take this oath myself:??

To protect, defend, and preserve our Constitution.

Let us remember, it’s not the words on the page that give the Constitution its power.??

It’s the spirit behind it - the energy, the vision of freedom and equality for all people.??

Let’s not forget that.

May you be wholehearted and openminded today.