We Did It

Okay, who else wants to run down the street yelling WOO HOO!?
Some people in my neighborhood did just that last night.
After the 2000 election I stopped watching the results come in. I watch something frivolous instead. This time I was about to turn off the TV and go to bed when I decided just to take a peek. It was 11:04pm and they were announcing that Barack Obama had won. But even if I had not changed the channel I would have known, for a moment later fireworks went off on the street and people were shouting and laughing. Here in Manhattan 85% of us voted for Obama so I fully expect to see lots of people smiling all day, patting each other on the back and feeling a sense of optimism for the first time in a long time. I know the road ahead is rough but for the moment I choose to embrace this heady feeling of joy and hope.

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness, may all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering, may all beings never be parted from freedom's true joy, may all beings live in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.-Buddhist prayer