It’s not just me, is it?

I am a faithful attender of Sunday Quaker worship, but this morning I skipped worship at my meeting and walked in the woods. That’s because I knew that walking alone amid the gorgeous trees in autumn would be grounding, and I feared that hearing other people’s anxieties about the election would not be. Since I am preparing to lead a training on staying calm on election day—even if conflict breaks out at the polls—it felt important to start by grounding myself.

An insight came as I walked. This week I said something in a committee meeting that I deeply regretted afterwards, and it’s been keeping me up at night. I saw my own mistake differently after I chose to give the benefit of the doubt to someone else from a different work team, who I felt tried to micromanage me. Although I don’t know this person well, it seemed obvious that his many suggestions came from anxiety about the election, not intentional disrespect for me. After giving him a little grace and walking in the woods, I realized I needed to give myself some, too. I also slip into micromanagement when I feel anxious, and boy do I feel anxious about this election!

The point of my training is that anxiety (though understandable) does not help us do our best thinking. It can easily play into the hands of political opponents who want to provoke us into doing or saying things that will backfire against us, especially when spread on social media. Anxiety also blocks connection and can hurt relationships. Although this wasn’t on my original list of election dangers, it occurred to me this morning that as a swing-state, Pennsylvania could be full of anxious poll workers micromanaging or otherwise annoying each other. Even if everything else goes smoothly, that’s a problem because whoever gets inaugurated, we’ll need to work together going forward.

So here are a few different resources that may speak to different people: 

My handout for those concerned about conflict at the polls. Note this was written for a specific group in Philadelphia, so adapt it to your situation, and feel free to share.

A Meditation for Election Fear from Tara Brach.

For those who don’t want a Trump Presidency but who feel conflicted about voting for Harris, especially if you live in a swing-state and are considering Jill Stein, please choose the Swap Your Vote option.

Finally, it’s been almost five months since I shared the What If Trump Wins book, which aimed to help people think about possible scenarios. Since then, some groups have been preparing for this possibility, and there are already draft trainings on the above website. I hope I never have to invite you to these trainings, but if things that go that way, I’ll write and let you know of resources to support people to stay connected and act strategically.

In the meantime, I’m hoping for the best and preparing for anything. For me, that involves walking in the woods, prayer, community, music, and putting my thoughts in writing.

Hope you find your own center.

love,
Eileen