Sit tight. Hang loose. Let go.

Okay, Bernie has bowed out, and despite physical distancing, it's no challenge to catch the howls of protest drifting on the social media winds.

There is no one more passionate than a Bernie supporter. I get that. He is to be admired for his young, vigorous spirit, his tenacity, his (mostly) consistent and reliable views, and his very obvious sincerity and genuineness. He's not perfect but he is someone who will do well in the history books, despite probably never rising higher than Senator. His supporters are in good company and can join hands and commiserate with those who did vote, or would have voted, for Mayor Pete, Elizabeth, Kamala, or even Mike.

Yes, so far as we can tell, Bernie would have done quite well in the White House.  Or not!  Anyone who reads Stephen King's novel 11-22-63 will see that in the speculations of one author, JFK was saved from Oswald's bullet, only to misstep badly where LBJ was more successful (Civil Rights), and his shortcomings led us to a dystopia that might have made many people nostalgic for the Trump administration.

Let's get one thing through our pointy little heads:

We don't know what we can expect.

I'm certainly no hard-core Buddhist (how's that for an oxymoron!?) but often find myself turning to two of the philosophy's major tenets when things just seem unsustainable:

• Nothing is permanent
• It is best to let go.

Meaning: As they say in many parts of the US, if you don't like our weather, just wait. Change will come. We know it's going to get a bit worse at least, before it starts getting better. And we're just barely beginning to envision how bad things can get, with so many people out of work. No question, things are going to get weird in this country. And yes, people who are disadvantaged now are probably going to feel like the guy in the last car of the Monster Coaster. Whiplash is an apt analogy.

Knowing that the "after"  phase of this thing is going to look a hell of a lot different than the "before" phase, we have one option:

Let it go. All of it. Your assumptions, your plans, your aspirations. Let them go. Things are going to change. It'll be like "President Bernie Sanders" on steroids. The status quo can't hold, but that means neither can the inequality. People with nothing to lose will start making their voices heard. We can expect that. We can expect to hear a lot of people saying Hell no, we won't go -- back to the way things were. The way things were that contributed to this crisis.

But it probably won't happen all at once. It will be like dominoes.

And then we'd better watch out. 

Anyone who has quietly wished things would change is going to get their wish. And you know what they say about "...what you wish for."

Peace and good health to you and yours! Keep washing your hands.