In early February a couple of things transpired to lead me in the direction of writing gratitudes to our newly elected President of the United States. First, I found a bunch of Thank You cards. Second, I listened to this On Being podcast interview called Meeting Our Enemies and Our Suffering, which talks about loving our enemies as a Buddhist practice. Last, I was searching for a way to be more involved, while staying true to living a deliberate, thoughtful and caring life.
All of these things came to me around the same time and for some reason the idea of sending Donald Trump gratitudes seemed appropriate for me. I ended the project 40 days later because the parameters I set for myself and the consumption of so much news was too much. Here is the entirety of my thank you cards and posts from this project.
In mid-March I ended this project called Gratitudes to the President. I became overwhelmed by the process and parameters I set for myself and I needed to let it go. I was searching daily for some good in the political …
3.14.17 Dear Donald Trump, Thank you for highlighting the extreme differences in the political parties. For example; deregulation, immigration ban, women’s health, health care reform. All of these changes to policy give us a clear view of how the political …
3.13.17 Dear President Donald Trump, Thank you for your performance. You have made me realize I have been grossly underestimating what is possible. Thank you, Becca Heavrin ******************** It occurred to me today that I am witnessing a social art …
3.12.17 Dear President Donald Trump Thank you for showing us change is hard. With Gratitude, Becca Heavrin ******************** Sometimes I think it’s hard to pull back and get a broad view. I’m working on doing this intellectually. (This is another …
3.11.17 Dear Donald Trump, Thank you for saying the jobs report was very real. With Gratitude, Becca Heavrin ******************** “Among all the attributes of the greatest leaders of our time, one stands above the rest: They are all highly trusted.” …
3.10.17 Dear Donald Trump, Thank you for showing the world how important women’s health is. You reinstated the global gag rule and other countries have stepped in to make sure women get access. Your actions have raised this priority of …
3.9.17 Dear President Donald Trump, Thank you for the common ground I now have with Fox News host Shepard Smith. Thank you, Becca Heavrin ******************** I have been saying a lot of things lately that I never thought I would …
3.8.17 Dear Donald Trump, Thank you for getting more women to stand up for their rights. With Gratitude, Becca Heavrin ******************* This is it!! This is exactly the thing I have been hoping would come as a result of our …
3.7.17 Dear President Donald Trump, Thank you for showing us the basic idea of the Affordable Care Act is strong. With Gratitude, Becca Heavrin ******************** I think health care should not be attached to where you work or how much …
3.6.17 Dear President Trump, Thank you for making us tend to the health of our democracy. With gratitude, Becca Heavrin ******************** The editorial board of the New York Times wrote a story titled When One President Smears Another. It talks …