On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, I texted my wife early in the morning from a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. I wrote I had been feeling melancholy the past few days. I chalked it up to the increasing weight of excessive businsss travel, and just a natural desire to be home with my family for more than only a week or two at a time.
What I realized a day later is that my melancholy was a precursor to what would transpire later that evening: Donald Trump winning the 2024 Presidential election.
Before I go any further — because I’m aware that some of you reading this are, at the very least, Trump voters (those that don’t particularly care for Trump, but simply couldn’t get behind Kamala Harris and had wished a better opposing candidate was an option) or Trump supporters (those that would’ve chosen him regardless of the democratic nominee because you legitimately want Trump as your leader) — allow me to write if you’re a friend, family member, colleague, or neighbor that voted for Trump, all I ask is for you to appreciate this was a sad day for people in your life, including me.
So, as the next day rolls around, Wednesday, November 6, 2024, what I spent much of my time doing is realizing I needn’t put any additional energy into something I can’t control. It’s not healthy in the least. Though the melancholy was still there, the momentum to move forward had already begun.
I decided I’m only going to put maximum time and love into the things that mean the most to me, such as my family; our beloved “COVID dog”, Joey, who we rescued from a kill shelter and have come to adore; a return to my blog writing (as I’m now doing); trying new foods from ethnicities wide; traveling abroad; following through on a new project I started in August called “Catch-Up Cinema” where I watch classic films from the 1940s - 1970s that I’ve never seen; exercising; and meditating. Doing the things that make me feel alive.
But regardless what it is I’m doing, there will be no more melancholy, no matter what the next four years bring us politically or, perhaps even moreso, socially.
I pray all of those in my circle find the joy & pleasures in life that allow them to push to the side things they cannot directly impact. Focus on you. Focus on your loved ones. And let the melancholy sail away.
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