11/29/2020

My Dear Friend & POTUS, DJT,

            Seven more Sundays – that’s what we both have to get through before this phase of our lives is over. I am not sure what I’ll do when this vigil ends. Do you have a plan? Folks ask me if I will keep writing you letters & I shrug my shoulders. I’m not sure what kind of power you will have over me & my fellow citizens. I don’t know if you will need me holding you in the Light to combat the darkness that is always threatening to consume you. I’m. not sure where I’d send my letters should I decide to continue our correspondence.

I wonder if you will return to the “hedonic treadmill” that I read about in today’s NYT. In case you don’t know about it, it’s the idea that we keep seeking happiness but it remains elusive. In your case, I think you yearned to be President because you thought you’d have a blast as everyone did your bidding. You seemed mad more often than you seemed glad so I’m not sure you ever found the happiness you were hoping for. Was it because folks like NPP were always aggravating you? You provided plenty of soundbites & tweets of agitation so I got the impression that being POTUS was not fun for you.

I encourage you to look to 2021 as a time of renewal. Barbara Fredrickson recommends loving-kindness meditation as a way to “outpace the effects of the hedonic treadmill.” It will enable you to stop “dwelling on the negative aspects of events.” I hope you can let go of your exasperation about your loss to JRB & be grateful for the time you had in the WH. You got to meet a lot of interesting people & you had your time in the limelight. I’m sure you will find something to keep yourself busy, as will I.

BYBS,