145 Million people have spent the last week wringing their collective hands over the presidential election results and how their personal vote did or did not affect the outcome. 

So let me interrupt your regularly scheduled anxiety to give you some incredible non-partisaan news.

Our firstborn daughter and her husband (Amanda and Jay) are pregnant with their firstborn daughter. If you’re counting at home, that’s three granddaughters for Jackie and I, and we could not be more thrilled.

I call this child JuJu because she told me to, kinda… and if that sounds a little woo woo, just wait there’s more. 

Not so long ago, Amanda was on her way for a check-in with her doctor. There was a little added stress because she had not been feeling well, which translated into some general worry for the baby’s well being. I spent the morning in contemplation and reached for my touchstone to have a tangible reminder of grounding. In my mind’s eye I imagined this child in her mother’s cocoon, and I began to speak words of health and strength directly to her. My words were sent outward as opposed to upward – conversationally as if she were beside me. At this point the only naming references were by fruit size – like, how’s our little strawberry doing today? I didn’t want to have an intimate conversation with strawberry so I wondered to myself what I should call this child. Out of the cosmic ether, as if she spoke it into my ears herself, I heard “JuJu”. I thought to myself… JuJu – Wow, this is actually a moment of good JuJu between she and I.

I pondered this for a bit and then did a google search: I read that good JuJu is the energy of a happy, helpful, healing, peaceful and protective form.  JuJu is a magnetic supernatural power. It is a feeling, intuition or vibe that is created by our thoughts, words and/or actions. JuJu is a swirling force that can and will penetrate according to your truest desires. Well okay, then! she shall be called JuJu – a name spoken just between she and I. 

In a truly joyous circle-of-life moment, Amanda shared her pregnancy news with my extended family at my brother’s memorial service. It did indeed bring some great JuJu to the moment.

In 1965 The Byrds released the song Turn! Turn! Turn! on the album by the same name. 

The lyrics were a direct pickup from Ecclesiastes chapter 3.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under heaven.

After the presidential election four years ago I posted an open letter to my daughters (and future granddaughters) that read in part:

”Had Hillary Clinton been victorious in her pursuit of the presidency, her acceptance speech would have been symbolic in many ways. The acceptance room had a mirrored ceiling, and confetti was to give the appearance of shattered glass being broken, falling to the ground signifying that she had broken through the highest of glass ceilings. Little girls and women worldwide would now know that nothing was out of their reach. The returns did not go as expected, the speech was never given, the confetti never fell, the ceiling remained, and many women grieved. My daughters, do not grieve, but be emboldened. You cannot look to others to change your world. The change resides within each of us. As parents we must raise our sons to value all people and to see and respect women for their intrinsic value to the very fabric of life. We must instill in our daughters that they can indeed overcome our societal baggage, they can change hearts and minds, they can break down walls and even crash glass ceilings.”

Today we usher in a new administration into a very divided country. Regardless of party affiliation, or thoughtful policy differences, and societal concerns; we are still neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family. We All want to live in peace and in health. We All want clean water and a sustainable future for future generations. We All want to be heard, and we want to be able to hear. We All want to love and be loved. We All want to live with dignity and respect. We may approach these challenges from different vantage points but if we allow ourselves to believe the worst about each other than we are not as consciously awake as we would like to believe ourselves to be. There will always be fringe elements in every camp who claim to speak for the masses but they do not, and their intentions are seldom pure nor righteous. The unjust will always seek to divide – the pure in heart will always seek reconciliation.

We have seen first hand that each and every vote does matter, and all voices need to be heard – not just the votes and voices that come from our particular tribe. All of humanity is on a personal journey of discovery, awareness, and maturity that hopefully brings increased wisdom. 

At the next election cycle my precious JuJu won’t be who she is now – In April she will be be birthed into a different world where she will grow, discover new things, and continually evolve and develop her core values, beliefs, and understanding of how life should work. Have we collectively decided that at some cutoff point in our personal life journey we know all, understand all, can judge all, without bias or partiality. Surely the path of continued growth and understanding carries us directly into eternity.  JuJu wants to tell us that you and I cannot leave this evolution to someone else. Your vote matters, your personal accountability matters, your desire to be the change matters.

JuJu speaks to me and compels me to be the first to say: help me understand you better, help me love you better, help me be a better neighbor, co-worker, friend, son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and global citizen. How will you and I respond to JuJu’s plea?

Much love to you all as we travel together.