Still hoping, still anxious – three things to calm your heart this election night. – BLOG

The world is watching, we’re all waiting for the votes to fully be counted #uselections2020 . From what we know already, so much of it feels so heavy. The disappointment and hurt is resonating all over social media. I feel it so much in my heart too. I guess we all wanted to believe it would be different this time, but the reality remains is the same. There is so much hate in this country. The reality is that despite the 200k+ lives lost and a pandemic handling disaster, despite kids in cages & 500+ of them lost from their families and mass movements against racial discrimination.. there are SO MANY who align themselves with Trump’s divisive, racist politics.

I’m anxious yet hopeful that Biden will see it through (inshallah) but also sad it is this way.

If you are looking for something to calm your mind, or for something beautiful to read on this heavy day, I wanted to share these pieces of writings that have helped me. I know you’ll love them too.

(1)

“I no longer feel the need to meekly nod or avoid discussion when I’m at a table of people who believe differently than me because I know more and I care more. I care more because I’m a mom, I care more because I have a child in a minority group who depends on people to speak up for her, and I care more because I see how broken things are in this country. The discourse and hate is absolutely heartbreaking….

More than anything—at the very least—I want to be able to turn the TV on when our president is speaking and let my kids watch, knowing they will see kindness, empathy, maturity, decency and hope. I want my children to grow up feeling proud of their country for the way it loves, accepts and leads.

No matter what happens today, our job remains the same tomorrow. No matter who wins, our work is not over—to fight for a better country not just for our own family but for all.”

Kelle Hampton (Read the full post here)

(2)

“My hope always is that I can honor my child by raising her with consciousness, so that she sets out into the world and sees her own potential for impact. Babygirl, the fight for justice, equity, truth: you won’t fix this today. You don’t fix something you just arrived at yesterday, today. Many, many generations before you have pushed the line as far as they could take it, that’s how we got here, where we are now. That is, in fact, the only reason we got here, where we are now.

And your lifelong job is to push progress to the outer limits of possibility every day, where you are, whatever you’re doing, in whatever power you have. This is how change is made. When you pin the stakes of one win or one loss as the verdict to the rest of the movement, you are not here for real, lasting change. There is no win or lose, there is only momentum toward Truth.

Your job is to not give up with any loss, and certainly not to give up after any win.

So live your life radically for the truth, and challenge the world to join you there. Create the momentum, cast your ballot. Help your neighbor. Protect people you have never heard of, just as your ancestors protect you, who they could only have ever dreamed of. If you are wondering how that torch got in your hand, it’s because someone else lit it for you.”

by Anja Tyson for Latonya Yvette ‘s blog.
(Read the full post here.)

(3)

You hardly slept at all last night.

And now, you feel the weight
of a pending dawn
slowly lifting over the plains.
There’s tension in your shoulders
from carrying the strained hope for change.

Be kind to yourself,

for yes, even here, you are worthy.

There is a lot to do and this is also true:

the body needs moments, unhurried.

Beyond your anxious thoughts

remember the bridges

already crossed.

Remember the mountains

we have climbed

one century at a time.

Remember when James Baldwin said,

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.”