Finding Light in Dark Times: Reflections and Prescriptions Post-Election

Suffering a post-election plunge of mood and spirit, I considered skipping November’s blog post––even abandoning my monthly posts altogether. Then it occurred to me that by doing so, I’d be yielding to the intentions of the winning cabal––to silence those of us whose beliefs, values, hopes and aspirations contradict theirs––wholeheartedly. More than ever, we’re called to resist giving up on the future we’d hoped was within our grasp––as challenging as that feels for me at this moment, just two weeks after the devastating political reality ahead.

I’d like to share two pieces of writing––the first written by me on November 7,  barely forty-eight hours after election results held sway. 

How to refrain from bitterness, from judgment, from anger, from resentment, from hate? That is the conundrum today. On this November 7, an election has determined a felon, sex offender, and hater will be our next president of the United States. He was elected––not even for the first time, but for the second.

The question I must ask myself now is how to refrain from slipping into a shadowed hole of hopelessness, pessimism, and despair? I’m walking in an unfamiliar suburban neighborhood, just minutes from downtown Boston. From above, the perky sun warms my face––a doubly appreciated delight this November afternoon! 

Though the maple trees are stripped bare of their leaves, Barbie-pink cosmos blossoms wave proudly as I pass. As it has for billions of years, the celestialfireball offers its comforting heat, no matter the anarchy we have sown down here on earth.

Should I take hope in your steadfast warmth, Sun? No matter how foolish our choices, how deep our regrets, how profound our sorrows, you sustain life on this planet we call our home. You grace our joys as well, though today they seem impossible to imagine.

Stephanie Shafran, 11-6-24

The second, a “prescription” of sorts for those of us feeling defeated, angry and dispirited in the wake of the election outcome, was sent to me by a dear friend. Her cousin is its author. 

What’s important right now, immediately, is to notice beauty in our lives.

Pay attention to it, connect to it, let it quietly do its work on you, help it grow and do its work slowly on others.

Be kind – carefully – to others and to yourself.

And, incrementally, make sure that others around you feel safe and loved.

We’ll need to build trust in this society that, right now, is sorely lacking in it.

Discover the light (it can be hidden right now) in many ways, as you go about your day.

Rabbi Joey Wolfe , Portland, Oregon