Sermon of Light by fern

Right now is tough. What we are going through is tough, both in the global / external world, and what it’s doing to our mental / emotional world. I have always been interested and engaged in current events and politics. But recently, I am starting to lose my internal steadiness. To be blunt, I am having a hard time loving my children’s grandpa right now because of some of the things he’s posting about on social media. It’s some major family drama. He espouses a social and political belief system that is diametrically opposed to mine. And it’s not just him vs. me, it’s him vs. the ‘rest of the family’ (us). It’s gone way beyond aggravating. His posts tend to just share someone else’s comments, someone else’s meme, a news article with a spicy headline… and many of these posts are based on fake news. AND many of the posts have become confrontational and offensive to us personally.

I’ve grown into a good relationship with my father-in-law. On of my earliest experiences with him was him telling me to not be in the family photos. Even though that hurt my feelings, I understood the bigger picture. From his perspective, I was the ‘new girlfriend’ and I assumed that his perspective is that girlfriends don’t stay, that love doesn’t last. And it wasn’t worth the risk for him to have family photos of a love that didn’t last. From the beginning, I understood that was one of his wounds.

Quick Backstory on Me

I have lived much of my life in areas of the country where I was a political minority. Blue Girl Red State. I am accustomed to being around people who view the world differently than I do. I am used to having family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and complete strangers having different beliefs and views than me. Because I’ve had to literally live with people who have had different beliefs and values than me, I have a lot of practice loving people even if I don’t like everything about them. But most of this practice has been under what I consider “normal conditions.” Right now seems so far beyond normal conditions and definitely has been harder to maintain my steady state. Deep triggers are poked everyday.

Sidetrack

A running theme in my life is root-cause analysis. Professionally, I have held positions where I would examine why things happened the way they did. Questions like, “Why did they prefer this over that?” “Why did they do this or that?” “Why do they believe this or that?” And then on a personal level, my social anxiety sometimes keeps me awake at night with these questions. (As an aside, a semi-consistent meditation practice has helped me calm those questions and quiet my mind so I can sleep.)

Let My Freak Flag Fly!

As I write this, I am reminded of the character DATA from the tv show Star Trek: The Next Generation. Because of my tendency to conduct near-constant root-cause analysis (ie, obsessive thoughts), I tend to be highly analytical. When I communicate or interact with someone, I really try to understand what makes them tick. But on a deeper level, I can understand YOU. Why you believe what you believe. And wonder, if I had experienced the same WHY you believe what you believe, would I then believe the same? My Myers-Briggs is tied INTJ with INFJ. On one side, I’m a Thinker like Data the android, but on the other side I’m like Deanna Troy, the Empath. I bring in so many details of your experience as you communicate, that my ability to imagine myself in your experience is close to reality. Your reality, that is. try to see you as your whole person. I hear your words and I know that they are only part of the story. The words you don’t say, the words you wished you hadn’t said, your countenance and body language, etc. I filter it through everything I know about and have experienced with you. I try to understand the macro level of your universe and the micro.

Future Case Study for 3 a.m.: Why did you choose to share that particular meme on social media?

Social Media.

Social Media and AI generated content are bluring the lines of reality. I have found myself repeatedly getting riled up about something I read on social media that I later learned was fake news. I’m sure that you’ve posted something on social media in the last few years that would have somehow me riled up. Something that I agreed with or disagreed with, in a very strong way. Something that maybe you and I agree on, or we don’t. Some of these rilings have set off deep triggers within me, and challenged my ability to love certain people. My inner child archetype is strong around certain issues around physical and emotional safety.

There is so much fake news and some of it is very convincing! Previously in life, I had great discernment but with the advances in technology happening before we were ready, I keep getting fooled by these Tricksters. It’s almost like an orchestrated psyops trying to make humanity not know the truth and stay down in the dumps. …But that’s really letting my Freak Flag Fly!

It’s a highly emotional and confusing time in the world right now in 2026, and social media is compounding that exponentially. Everyday, I feel so deeply upset about something that may or may not even be true.

I’m going to try to dedicate the month of April to preserving my mental and emotional health by limiting my exposure to social media.

Tricksters

I believe that at a soul level, we all chose to be here, at this time right now. We might even have this in our soul contract. Karma is real Trust in divine timing.

And while that sounds all mushy-gushy woo-woo, I also believe in the Trickster and that we put obstacles in our path as opportunities to grow. It occurs to me that maybe my father-in-law and I have soul contracts that force us to face certain triggers together. Maybe he’s helping me to become a better version of myself, somehow.

* Original Title: “A Letter to Me & My Higher Self, Angels Guides Guardians, Family & Friends, Humanity, Galactic Families, and all of Gaia.”