Hello, my friends. I know given the events of this week, a lot of our brains are running wild.

So I want to share with you an email that I sent to my list earlier this week. And then I'm going to share a podcast I recorded in 2020, but reflecting on the self-coaching that I had done in 2016, the last time that we had

some similar election results. So I'll read you my message from today, and then this episode

will transition into a replay of that podcast. Dear you, today, many of us are reeling. Some of us are afraid, and many other

people are celebrating. Elections are a prime example of the fact that circumstances don't

cause our feelings. We know that because we see how many people are having the exact

opposite reaction to us.

But nevertheless, my brain has a lot of thoughts this morning, and maybe yours does too.

So here's what I want to offer you.

The Buddhist teacher, Tishnot Han, said,

What is most important is not to allow your anxiety about what happens in the world to fill your heart.

If your heart is filled with anxiety, you will get sick and you will not be able to help.

Now, of course, you know that I think there's nothing wrong with having any emotion.

The point isn't to beat yourself up if you're feeling anxious or to repress your emotions

and try to get over them immediately.

If you need time to grieve, take time to grieve. But catastrophizing isn't any more useful or accurate

just because the national news and everyone else you know is doing it too. Our brains do not actually

know what will happen, even if they think they do, because the future has not

been created yet, and we are part of creating it. We have a part to play in what comes next. Our

worst fears may come to pass, or they may not. No matter how certain your brain thinks it is right now,

it does not actually have a crystal ball.

But what we can know for sure is that we get to decide how we show up in our own lives,

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