Tripping, not falling

Yesterday, on my almost daily hike along one of the Ridgeline Trails, I tripped over a root along the path. I caught myself before I fell, and I walked on. I walked on, unharmed, but castigating myself: Geez. You know this trail so well. You are a careful hiker. Why did you trip? You shouldn’t be tripping. But then came my kinder thought: Hey, you immediately recovered. So that’s good.

 Which brought me to this:

 Seven falls, eight rises. This is a Japanese proverb I learned while researching Stubborn Twig many years ago. 七転び八起き (nana korobi ya oki) It is about resilience and perseverance. It emphasizes the importance of getting back up after setbacks and failures, the victory of persistence, the strength of recovery.

 I remember also a piece of research I came across while working on Counterclockwise and trying to understand the science of aging. Studies showed that people who lived long, healthy lives did not live long, healthy lives because they never got sick. They lived long healthy lives because they recovered from getting sick. They bounced back from illness. Resilience was their superpower.

 Which brings me to this. (And you knew it would): Joe Biden.

 He tripped, but he did not fall. Or did he?

 Do I wish he had said, a year ago: Thank you for the privilege of serving as your president. Now let’s have a stimulating, energizing, inclusive national discussion about who can be our next leader? Yes, I wished he had said that. I wished he had bowed out with grace. Many of us wished that.

 But he didn’t.

Do I wish he would say now, or tomorrow, or Monday: I love this country more than my own political ambition. I love what our party stands for, and I want to do what it takes to keep us strong. Therefore, I step aside.

 But right now, he is here. And he tripped. And we are waiting to see if he will get up. We have tripped too, we citizens, we Democrats, we progressives. Whatever happens now, as the polls rolls in, and the podcasts pontificate, and the media bloviates, we must get up. We must recover.

The alternative is unthinkable.

 This morning I was on a Zoom call with an Austrian journalist who will be in Chicago covering the Democratic National Convention. He asked: How afraid are you that American democracy is failing?

 This is how the world sees us. We cannot see ourselves like this. Seven falls, eight rises.

Photo: mine. On the trail after tripping.