立冬: 山茶始開 | Beginning of Winter: Camellias start to bloom (72 microseasons)
What does the 2024 US election outcome mean for the Paris Climate Agreement, to the global climate-health agenda, to foreign aid, to multilateral organizations such as WHO, World Bank, UNs whose funding are reliant upon the US?
What does it mean for Taiwan, Ukraine, Palestine? What are the prospects for Asia, specifically Southeast Asia amidst the US-China trade and tech tug of war?
Trump won again. Not just the electoral votes, but also the popular vote this time.
Mainstream media is clearly out of touch with yet-another failed prediction.
From blue-collared workers to Silicon Valley tech brothers including Elon Musk, people have voted with their wallets.
Another wake-up call to the world’s most powerful country that they are unable to take care of its least well-off. People are struggling without the basic minimum of affordable housing, affordable universal healthcare, affordable childcare (pricing was already off-the-roof when we lived in DC 10 years ago), and viable jobs.
Fitness, finance, families - essential elements we need to survive.
Policy matters for systems change. But culture shift from the ground up is equally, if not more, important. Because policy impacts are felt first and worst on the ground. Loose grounds break apart. Social cohesion is vital as a stabilizing anchor, helping communities stay strong and rooted in uncertain times of major changes in between elections and seismic shifts.
A chain of local actions can trigger a movement of change.
The deepening polarization of US politics is a symptom of more things to come.
一杯茶，佛门看到的是禅。道家看到的是气。儒家看到的是礼。商家看到的是利。 茶说：我就是一杯水，给你的只是你的想像，你想成什么，什么就是你的。 心即是茶，茶即是心。
"In a cup of tea — Buddhists see Zen, Taoists see Qi, Confucians see ritual, Businesspeople see profit. The tea says: I am simply a cup of water. What I give you is only your own imagination. Whatever you think of me, that is what I become for you. The heart is tea. Tea is the heart."
Are Trump supporters vs those not-for-Trump more divided than ever? Blue vs white collar. College vs university educated. Rural vs urban. Anti-establishment vs for-globalization. Individual freedom vs government intervention.
I read the other day that Trump supporters consume different media. Instead of mainstream media, they turn to families, friends, personal networks as their trusted news sources.
So, how do we see beyond the surface to reach each other? How do we honor and accept differences in a world harboring fear? Perhaps, if we cannot find common ground, we will find a common grave.
In a world out of balance, that seems to have lost its footing in balance, fumbling around in the dark, what do you do regularly to anchor yourself?
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beautiful quote - 是從哪裏來的？