Today is a day that some find Lucky and some find Unlucky. In general I consider it Lucky. Here are a selection of understandings of the Number 13 just for fun.
Numerology (Positive View)
The energy of 13 tends to resonate best when pursuing its goals without interference. It generally knows what it wants and can gain support for its goals from others.
As an overview, the numerology number 13's basic meaning or essence is a composition containing the ideas of Focus, Pragmatism, Building a secure foundation, Independence, and Creative self-expression
13 Angel Number* (Positive View)
(*Note I have never heard of this angel system before but works for this post talking about the number 13 LOL)
The number 13 is a karmic number. If the power of this number is used for selfish reasons, this number can bring disaster and destruction to the person who misused its power, causing this person illness and disease.
The angel number 13 indicates that you have probably gone through some difficulties and the angels are encouraging you to believe that all will be well soon.
They are guiding you to believe in the possibility of turning your problems and hurts, into something good which will help you move forward in your life.
In Western Culture (Negative View)
From what I am reading it really comes down to poor Judas, because Judas was the 13th at the last supper 13 than became bad luck. This is silly because 13 as a number and concept has been around long before Christianity. (And because Judas gets a bad rap, he made a poor choice, that he was forced or not forced to make to make sure "the plan" God had happened and that could be a whole different blog post)
In the end, all I can hope is on this Friday the 13th, you find luck and joy and positive change.
Today was in the high 70's, I wore shorts, which is wild for Nov 9th. I walked to the lake and spent several hours enjoying the weather since tomorrow is suppose to be warm but rainy and Wednesday is supposed to get cold again. I read, did yoga, and listened to a podcast all at the lake. I tried to catch the feeling of fully appreciating the weather we have had the past week or so, though it always feels like I could have done more somehow. I was also reminded of the different seasons which will be turning. We are moving quickly into the fall/winter holiday season.
We are also quickly moving into a new political season. It was so nice to hear Biden do a COVID press conference and feel calmer and better when it was over. Not what I have felt for the past 4 years. As I have said before I was more invested in this election season than any election season before. Some of it was an investment of attention, money, and energy and some was just more invested in the outcome.
While I had been stressed about the election for a long period of time, I did have it as something in the future to focus on. Now it is over and some things have changed and some things remain but I am aware in this moment I need to find something else to have in the future to focus on. I am in the middle of experiencing the metaphoric "Sunday after Easter", or "Day after the theater show ends".
Knowing it will soon turn cold again and I will be spending most of my time inside my room, because there are few places I want to go with COVID still being and issue, is challenging. A taste of freedom makes the idea of being holed up inside feel that much heavier. I know I will do fine, and find lots of things to stay busy, reading, shows online, courses ... but honestly I am simply not looking forward to it.
Echoing what others have said in the context of the election this is also a bittersweet time. A time of celebration and a time of something else. We won but the work goes on. We won but we are not done. We won but there is no magic wand that will solve all our institutional issues in a blink of an eye. (And I knew that would be the case but a tiny bit of me hoped if we did the work and won a miracle would occur and everything would be all better)
In the end this line from A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens feels especially relevant. (Though the quote really can be used to describe almost absolutely any time period)
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
So Biden/Harris are our president elect, and VP elect respectfully. This is an election cycle I started following what feels like lifetimes ago and which in reality is over a year and a half ago. I started before the first democratic debate. I have followed candidates who ran and then stepped aside. I have learned more about the political process than ever before. I have donated, and been on uncountable supporter calls for a wide range of candidates and groups and communities. I have read books and listened to podcasts and had numerous discussions with friends and roommates.
This was an important election for me because I knew that my rights as a women (and all those who are women identified) and my rights as a member of the LGBTQ+ family were up for debate. I knew that the physical safety of my black and other BIPOC community members was up for debate. Now these debates are not going to disappear but I still feel more whole, more like I belong when the person who is going to be president understands my humanity and the humanity of those I care about.
This election cycle has seemed to go one forever and this election week felt that way too. Counting and Counting and Counting some more. But as of this morning this part of the journey (and it is a journey that will continue and will never end) is over and we can move forward to the next part.
Next Steps As We Are Moving Forward:
Working on the runoffs in Georgia so the Democrats could tie in the senate.
Paying attention to the transition and finding ways to support Biden
Facing Covid heads on and finding a national policy that works
Well as of right now we are still counting, counting, counting. ....
As we wait here are 25 victories we have already made:
Nevada became the first state in the nation to protect same-sex marriage in its constitution
Charmaine McGuffey became Hamilton County, Ohio’s first female & LGBTQ+ sheriff
Michele Rayner-Goolsby became FL’s first Black queer woman in the state legislature
Stephanie Byers became the first transgender legislator in Kansas and the first out trans person of color ever elected to a state legislature!
Kim Jackson became the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to the GA senate
Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones became the first openly gay Black members of Congress
Susan Eggman became the first openly LGBTQ+ Latinx woman elected to the CA senate
Taylor Small was elected as VT’s first transgender state legislator
Torrey Harris and Eddie Mannis made history as TN’s first openly LGBTQ+ state legislators (Tennessee was one of just five states that had never elected an LGBTQ state legislator.)
Mauree Turner became the first non-binary state lawmaker in the US
Shervin Jones became FL’s openly LGBTQ+ state senator
Sarah McBride became the first transgender state senator in US history
New Mexico elected its US House delegation made up entirely by women of color
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) have won their first reelection races
Cori Bush, a BLM activist and community leader, will be MO’s first Black woman in Congress
Jamaal Brown, beaten by the police when he was 11, started his own public school to serve his community, beat a 30-year incumbent to serve in Congress
MS voted to end a Jim Crow-era electoral college system aimed at diluting the Black vote
Jabari Brisport was elected in NY’s 25th district, making him the first LGBTQ person of color elected to the New York state legislature
Khaleel Anderson became the youngest Black person elected to public office in NY state history
Nikil Saval became the first Asian-American elected into the PA State Senate
Eric Fagan was elected as the first Black sheriff in Ft. Bend, TX since reconstruction
Dedrick Johnson was elected as Texas City, TX’s first Black mayor
We nearly doubled the number of trans state legislators who will serve next year: from four to seven!
Jess Benham became the first out LGBTQ woman elected to the Pennsylvania state legislature and became one of the few out autistic people ever elected to a state legislature in the U.S.
Todd Gloria makes history as the first openly LGBTQ person and first person of color elected mayor of San Diego.
Over all things are looking good but until every vote is counted I will hold my breath. So until then get outside and enjoy the nice weather.
As you all know as of right now (Wednesday afternoon) we are still in the liminal space of this election. We all knew this was how it was likely to play out but this liminal space, filled with unknowing and worry, is challenging.
There was a hope that the cry of freedom, the cry of justice, the cry of belonging would ring from sea to shinning sea. And that did not come to be, too many races were too tight, or not won to truly feel like there was a wave of freedom, justice, and belonging. And no matter how it finally works out this is hard to know. Our country is pretty much split down the middle on important issues that I do not understand why there is still debate around.
One of the important things to note is more people voted in this election than ever before. And as a percentage of the population you have to go back 120 years to 1900. So one thing is clear more people recognized that this was a vital election and got out and voted which is amazing since there were a lot of challenges to that outcome such as COVID.
More good news comes from the LGBTQ Victory Fund 2020 Election Results which works to build long-term LGBTQ political power by helping elect LGBTQ leaders at every level of government. 312 LGBTQ Victory Fund had 312 endorsed candidates who made it to the ballots yesterday and as of right now 169 won, 60 lost, and 83 are yet to be determined.
So we all have to sit in this liminal space for a bit longer, this liminal space with its roughs and pointy edges which scrape us raw. This is not easy. So take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health. I have been spending lots of time reading outside and limiting my social media which has been helpful for me. Find what works for you. And as Biden has told us, we need to keep the faith.
Friday I hope to conclude this Election 2020 series
If you have not already voted for what ever reason, have a plan and make sure you VOTE on election day. And know if you are in line when the polls close stay in line you can still VOTE. Don't let others discourage you from voting this year.
2020 has been quite the year and it has been a year that demonstrates the need for leadership from our elected officials. I do not know what will happen on election day nor do I know what if anything we will know before the night is over. I have already voted and I know that this year my vote matters more than any other year before.
VOTE
Vote up and down the ballot
Vote because my life and your life and the lives of so many of us depend on it.
By every single indication there is this year is going to have a record turnout. Right now a total of 70% of the total number of ballots cast in 2016 have already voted. Or put another way 10 states are already at 90+ % of their 2016 totals or 20% of the country has done so.
Top Turn Out States* (As of Noon on Nov 2)
(*In terms of percentage of 2016 turnout who have already voted)
Hawaii 111%
Texas 108%
Montana 99%
Washington 98%
New Mexico 97%
Oregon 96%
North Carolina 95%
Georgia 94%
Florida 94%
Nevada 91%
Tennessee 90%
Wednesday I will do a recap of election day and what we know and what we do not know at that point.
