Over the past few weeks I have acted on, with intention, my disdain for the outgoing so-called president (my autocorrect tried to capitalize the P in president when I intentionally made it lower case for a reason) through the posting of memes and some thoughts written out to share. In doing so, I knew that I was leaving the safety of the wellness community’s ability to hide behind spiritual teachings that convince us that judgement is a bad thing and that we should be as impartial as a tree in the face of a storm. And as much as I know that approach to be helpful in certain situations, I also know that the oft-(un)well-ness community is also often guilty of spiritual bypass, the ability to hide behind teachings and so-called wisdom in order to avoid getting involved, using one’s voice in the name of justice, freedom, equality and fairness.

I will now use his name intentionally for the first time in four years instead of referring to him as he-who-shall-not-be-named. Donald Trump is, as far as I am concerned, an evil person. And if that judgement makes you uncomfortable, I invite you to unfollow me and forget our paths ever crossed. My concern in life is for the suffering of us all, especially those who exist in the shadows, those whose choices or whose accidents of birth and life set them on a course of adversity and resistance, all because of factors that they did not choose. One’s skin colour, language spoken, birth gender, faith, belief system, demographic information and path towards happiness and freedom should not dictate the facility with which they achieve said happiness and freedom. And yet, within the flawed construct human beings have created to exist together, those factors do. And needless suffering is the result of that.

My intention in life and my career is to alleviate suffering for those navigating murky, soul-crushing moments. It would only make sense, then, that anyone who makes that journey even harder for those already fighting for an iota of comfort and acceptance is going to fall into disfavor with me. Donald Trump had the opportunity to contribute to the healing and happiness of not only those whose journeys are already difficult, but to the healing of a nation and of a world being swept away in a torrent of intolerance. He chose, instead, to fan the flames of hate and division. To separate babies from their parents, parents from their babies. To ignore science when millions of Americans were falling ill with a deadly virus. To strip away the basic human rights that our loved ones need to remain safe and protected when humanity’s ugly head rears itself again and we fall into a spiritual moment of concealment, an even darker age of ignorance. Donald Trump did everything to reinforce the Hindu teaching that demons do, indeed, walk among us. And so when I post a meme that I find hysterical showing that little, traumatized man, a man for whom I can actually find an iota of compassion, because no one turns into the devil without being hurt by the devil itself, understand that I am celebrating the shift in awareness and awakeness in a populace that allowed this person to do so much harm for so long.

In the name of the women we love, our transgender brother and sisters, our LGBTQ+ community, our brothers and sisters whose skin color traverses the spectrum, our fellow human beings who pray to Gods we know too little about and whose mother tongues sound fabulously foreign to us, I celebrate this new era in the hope that the government-elect delivers on their promises to focus on freedom, inclusion, diversity and equality. I also understand that a troubling number of Americans did not vote for freedom and equality for all, and many of those people fall into the subcultures I’ve referred to. We are at a pivotal juncture in history, and you better believe that I will voice an objection when I see society’s most vulnerable put at even greater risk by those whose influence and so-called power could drastically improve life for us all.

As for the wellness community, do us all a favour and don’t use yoga or meditation or scriptures to avoid being part of the solution. It hurts the community, and is the farthest thing from what these teachings are meant to do. Find something else to hide behind.

All this to say that if my partiality has made you uncomfortable, I totally understand why. With that said, know that I will always champion those who navigate the path of light, truth, equality, happiness and freedom for ALL. Not just for one pocket of humanity, but for all humanity. I will pass judgement when evil is being unleashed and which contributes to intolerance.

We are on this journey of being human TOGETHER. Any other approach or attitude is, as far as I’m concerned, harmful. So let’s remember that we’re on the same team, regardless of the details we’ve been taught divide us. And do whatever we can, as efficiently and respectfully as possible, to heal those divisions.