I’m normally not anxious; it’s just not my natural state of being.  But today, I am anxious.  The stakes are high.  In 2016, it was inconceivable that Donald Trump could be elected as the President of the United States.  I can’t help but think of Vizzini, the character played by Wallace Shawn in “The Princess Bride.”  But like Vizzini, I learned that what I’d thought was inconceivable could happen, and it actually did.  It is no longer inconceivable. 

How do we get through the day, when, as the Washington Post puts it, “Whoever wins, half of voters will be surprised”?  I’m not staying plugged into nonstop news; I’m not checking social media too often.  My husband asked me if I’d watch the returns on TV tonight.  I said I can’t not watch the returns. 

But until then, I’m doing a handful of things to stay sane, and maybe these suggestions will help you, as well.

I’m walking, with and without my dog.  Walking is a spiritual discipline for me, a way of praying.  Solvitur ambulando. 

I’ve been praying an excellent Prayer for Peace and Justice on Election Day by Teri McDowell Ott, published in the Presbyterian Outlook: https://pres-outlook.org/2024/11/a-prayer-for-peace-and-justice-on-election-day/  This prayer lifts up poll workers and election workers, about whom I have particular concern today.

I’m not on TikTok, but I’m grateful that a pastor colleague shared an extremely hopeful TikTok by author Brian D. McLaren in which he simply and compassionately describes the cultural forces that have brought us to this place in history.  As he says, “Something is trying to be born, and something is dying.” https://www.tiktok.com/@brianmclaren/video/7432884450091961642  If you don’t know about Brian D. McLaren, I can’t recommend his books enough.  Check out Faith after Doubt, Do I Stay Christian? And The Great Spiritual Migration.

That same pastor colleague shared a video by a man named Neal Foard, entitled “A Postcard from 1969.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaMkOES-y3Y.  It turns out Foard has a YouTube channel chock full of encouraging stories about small kindnesses that speak powerfully of the goodness of people.  I subscribed!  Neal Foard will be a regular resource for me going forward.  https://www.youtube.com/user/nealfoard/videos

For lunch today, my husband and I sought out a Mexican restaurant not far from our house.  Like many restaurants in my city of Richmond, California, the people who work there clearly don’t speak English very often.  It felt like the right place to be.  Maybe your town has a similar restaurant where they speak mostly Spanish, or Vietnamese, or Chinese, or Farsi, or …. ?

I wrote and posted a blog that lifts up the values we should be taking into the voting booth if we claim to be followers of Jesus.  https://solve-by-walking.com/2024/11/05/really-seeing-each-other/  

I will probably make an Election Day playlist before the day is over.  It will include, among other songs, “Yes We Can Can” by the Pointer Sisters, “Stand” by Sly and the Family Stone, “Put a Woman in Charge” by Keb Mo, and “Respect” by Aretha Franklin.  Your ideas and suggestions are welcome.

How are you staying sane?

© Joanne Whitt 2024 all rights reserved.