Context

Not everything about being 60 is bad by any stretch of the imagination. There is so much wonder in having reached this age. At age 60, they say in Chinese medicine, we have been through each of their zodiacal animal years in each of their five elements. In other words, we've seen the full cycle. We've seen it all.

In spite of this, initially the energy of the government shutdown caught me off guard. I'm not the only one who got swept up in a crazy vortex of energy. In fact, many citizens of DC and the rest of the country are still thrashing around in a boiling stew of acrimony. It is a bitter stew! And yet, it's compelling.

Oh I was fit to be tied for a few days. I even briefly considered taking the purbha (a Tibetan shamanic tool meant to pierce the hearts of demons) down to the Capitol where I thought I might try to pop the delusional bubble that surrounds the building. Luckily, before storming down there, I was able to remember that doing magic at the federal level has never worked well for me. I was like a gnat up against a hurricane every time I tried. Splat. Ridiculous. There are many reasons why I don't do magic anymore. Thank god.

But I decided to walk down there anyway. Every kind of crazy was already at work within the bubble. There was the guy yelling about the dangers of electromagnetic energy, there was the Jesus lady, people ranting, people raving, people pacing back and forth. I didn't stay long in the midst of all that! A few minutes after I left, the woman rammed into the barriers on the Constitution side of the grounds. Perhaps she popped the bubble, I'm not sure.

After partaking briefly of the madness on the Capitol grounds, I remembered the sixties, how tumultuous and extreme that period of time was. I remembered how unsettling it was, then as now, to make such huge progressive societal leaps. Even those of us who wanted the changes that took place in the sixties were unsettled. This period of time, since the election of our first black president, is equally tumultuous. Great strides forward have been made, though they never seem enough, or fast enough for progressives. It's too much change, too fast, for conservatives. Our national soul is having another identity crisis, probably rightly so. The national soul, and many U.S. citizens, are in a tizzy.

We were headed for a calamity like this. It was inevitable. Should we be surprised this is happening? Initially I was, but then - because I'm 60 - I remembered that thing I always say, that this time is just like the sixties. It surely is!

The "crazy caucus," as they are called here in DC, are channeling trickster energy like nobody's business. They dress and talk the talk of traditionalists, i.e. Tea Party, love the Constitution, etc. But they are anarchists. If the Chicago 7 had gotten elected, they might have chosen the same method to shut down the government - for very different reasons, and to very different ends. Oh those crazy caucus politicians! They do not love the Constitution any more than Abbie Hoffman did. The trickster is running strong in them, through them.

I wonder what will happen next?

Though today will no doubt be weird, at least it's supposed to rain. It has been about a month since we've seen any rain at all, hence the relief will be palpable. Perhaps the furloughed people will put a stupid movie in the Netflix queue, check out for awhile. I hope at least some of them can relax.

I'll be working all day, a very good thing for so many reasons. I am very grateful to have found a softer current of energy to ride. I'm leaning into my practices, I'm striving to work at the top of my form with clients who have to contend directly with the energy inside the Capitol as well as people who live, as I do, in the shadow of that icon. We are tough but this is crazy. Oh yeah.

We've got a ways to go before this gets worked out, but something will shift. It will. I remember how it goes. The shutdown will not last forever. I can remember this directly, because I am 60. Life is good and I am grateful. Shalom.