The Spiritual Wisdom of “well that happened…” both personally and politically

Lately I am appreciating the spiritual wisdom of “well that happened.”  Way back in 2009 when it entered the lexicon, it had a snarky dismissive feel, often used to cut off conversation.  And some people probably still use it that way.  Urban Dictionary: Well That Happened   

But now I feel like it’s a profoundly useful spiritual and political concept.  In my culture, so much (maybe all) of the pain of life comes from a strong sense of judgment, that something has gone wrong.  I wake up every morning with a to do list and then life happens and certain or all things on it don’t get done.  The derailing is painful to me, because I often judge it and think it should be different from how it is.  As the Buddhists say, all suffering comes from attachment, and all suffering is optional (depending on my ability to release attachment).

“Well that happened” may seem pointless but actually it is just true.  The things that I’m worried about and upset over are really just stories I’m believing.  I think things should be one way and they actually appear to be another way.  This phrase, this spiritual truth, is really a great way to release attachment and sometimes feel better fast

It’s not, I’ll hasten to point out, the same as “it’s all good.”  “It’s all good” is actually judgmental.  It’s a “good” judgment, but its still a judgment.  At the level of the unified field/One/Divine Love/God there is no judgment.  It/S/he/They always say “yes” without judgment.  Judgment is a human idea, not a Divine one.  “Well that happened” (which, yes, I do want to insert a comma in, but that’s not usually how it’s written) is something that the Divine would say/feel/know/be.

In the political realm this can be even harder than in the personal.  First, a reminder that there’s not something out there that is political that is separate from the spiritual.  We are all One.  There is no separation in the Mind of the Universe/One/unified field.  So what’s true in the personal is necessarily true in the political realm.  And, indeed, the pain of the political is entirely experienced as personal, right?  I am in pain when elected officials/the government does something that I don’t feel should have been done.  It feels as if something has gone terribly wrong.

In the personal realm as well, the worse the experience is the harder it is to refrain from judgment.  It’s one thing to say “well that happened” when I can’t find my car keys and I’m late to a minor appointment.  It might be possible for me to find relief from the application of “well that happened” to my mother’s very interesting conviction that Netflix fiction is true (even when she’s very very angry and yelling at me about it).  But if I were to get a life-threatening diagnosis or lose a close loved one or to have my house or business burned to the ground, I suspect I would have a violent reaction to anyone saying “well that happened.”  The higher the perceived stakes are, the greater the degree of attachment, the more I will probably cling.

In politics right now, I perceive that a great deal is at stake.  I might be able to rub some “well that happened” on the leader of the country for deceiving people as to the trajectory of a hurricane (despite the incredibly dangerous possibilities that brings), but it’s a tall order to be nonjudgmental and nonattached about racist policies, children being separated from their parents, global instability and policies that encourage wildfires, record heat and rising sea levels.  It’s seems like the stakes are too high to see these things from God’s perspective.  Which is a very  interesting statement if you think about it.

Is it possible for me to use the “well that happened” Divine invitation of nonattachment and nonjudgment to remove the stuckness of the polarities of the current moment in order to free up space for new possibilities?  Is it possible for something to shift in the void that nonjudgment can bring? 

What energy, space and consciousness can me and my body be to release all judgment and attachment and be “well that happened” in all aspects of my life in order to receive a new idea, a new moment in a life and world that works for everyone and everything that doesn’t allow it, can I destroy and uncreate it all right now?