Obama’s Change and Hope at Home

How has Obama’s election changed you and your home life? Whether you support him or voted Republican, you have to admit that this election represents massive change in our country. Even aside from the current economic crisis, people everywhere have been stunned by this election.

We hear many debates and views on the new policies Obama brings, but think about what is occurring on a personal level. In the privacy of your own home, do you feel different? More hopeful or inspired? Is anything shifting in your daily routine? Many people I talk to say yes.

So what feels different at home with Obama at the helm?  Many things no doubt, but one surprising shift at this transition time is that many people feel a need for “ritual cleaning” in their homes.  One friend talked of being inspired to “shine the light” in the dark places of her home,  the hidden closets and cupboards that we all ignore.   For many of us, it really does take some inspiration to focus on those cluttered, disordered places in ourselves.  But welcoming change on a personal level does need preparation, and making new space and bringing order and new perspective begin the process so well.

    I find it interesting that older cultures and native peoples have had rituals of cleaning their homes at times of transformation.  With Chinese custom, during the middle ten days of the lunar part of December, tradition says that a family should thoroughly sweep and clean their house.  This ritual cleaning is done to rid the house of the old and any bad luck from the prior year, and to make room for the new and more good fortune.

     Old pagan practices of Europe had something similar around this time of year.  Between harvest time around October 31st and the winter Solstice of December 21st, traditional beliefs called for one to become more introspective, to go deep within one’s self and to meditate on the new projects and personal goals chosen for the new year.   During this time the focus was on preparing for the new, and only at the solstice and after was the time ripe for truly planting the seeds of change and taking the practical steps to begin it.  In America, with some Native American tribes, such as the Iroquois, winter was also a time for spiritual cleansing and a ritual cleaning of the home.  

     So maybe all this inspires you to open those cupboards and closets, and maybe not.  Certainly many people are inspired by Obama to go further and to look within themselves at how they can be better people.   That is a good direction to go in.