by Joe Dellatore, a lifelong tree-hugger who also wanted to earn a lot of money (ergo, his employment as a business adviser, currently with IBM). Joe learned the foolishness of the monetary path about seven years ago and has been changing his route since then, and is now a practicing Buddhist. He is a grateful father of 3 young children, ages 7, 4, and 4.

As we move through another endless presidential campaign cycle in the United States, it occurred to me that I’ve broken through the Kubler-Ross Five Stages of Grief and now find myself on the other side. Much to my surprise, gallows humor seems a perfectly fitting moniker for this state — kind of a snarky form of acceptance. ;-)

It’s funny how I’ve been unaware of my progress through the stages. Although I suspect any observant outsider could have identified each step along the way. To me, looking out from behind my own eyes, it appeared as though only other people could be categorized so easily. I am more enlightened than that. I am fully aware of the stages and therefore couldn’t fall prey to them unwittingly. And yet, as I reflect from my perch this morning, I clearly see my willingness to have children several years ago as denial. I see my covert interest in subversive acts as anger. I see my embrace of renewables as bargaining. I see my walking away from it all as depression. And I see my renewed interest in living life fully as acceptance.

But now I’ve come to another step. The forest is still rotten. A cleansing fire is still needed to raze it to the ground and allow for a new cycle of life. This is not the fire of angry protest. The fire is neither destructive nor evil. Rather this is the fire of renewal; the fire of rebirth. This is Shiva as destroyer and guarantor of life. It is the compassion of Buddha without attachment to means.

And so, as I sip my cup of coffee and enjoy the sounds of the birds coming to life with a VERY early spring, I see that Donald Trump is another manifestation of the cleansing fire. He seems to represent everything that is wrong with modern American culture and as such, he has secured my vote to quicken the demise — sparking the flame.

If you are one of those folks going through an earlier stage of grief and still finding it hard to accept our fate, let me remind you that atmospheric methane peaked well above 3000 ppb a few days ago for the first time in recorded history — blowing through the previous all-time high. Even if things pull back for a few years between 2017 and 2020 as we shift back to La Nina, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the jig is up and time is short.

In context, my goals for today include being kind to someone, smiling at a stranger, and calling a few friends to convince them to vote for The Donald.

Cheers.

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McPherson was interviewed by Wolfgang Werminghausen for the premiere episode of his podcast. You can hear it on Soundcloud here.