There’s a lot happening in the world right now. If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the weight of it all, you’re not alone. I certainly do, too. News about violence and harm; the ongoing attacks on trans people and their rights; political division and uncertainty as we approach the midterm elections; and the recent reporting on what happened to a young woman at a Cornell University frat party two years ago. It’s impossible to make sense of it all.
When we care deeply about what’s happening around us, it’s natural to move between anger, fear, sadness, and helplessness. We may find ourselves doomscrolling, shutting down, or wondering what we could possibly do to make a difference.
Something that I’ve been reflecting on lately is:
What if, when we feel overwhelmed by what’s happening in the world, we bring our attention to where we still have agency?
Finding What We Can Do
This past week, I organized a Get Out the Vote postcard-writing event at my kids’ school.
About 40 kids, teens, parents, and teachers showed up to write 200 postcards to voters in swing states, encouraging them to make their voices heard in the November 3rd midterm elections.
There were colored markers, stickers, snacks, music, and families gathered around tables in the upstairs lounge. Younger kids decorated cards and applied stamps and stickers. Teens who aren’t yet old enough to vote showed that they weren’t too young to participate in democracy. Adults sat alongside them writing messages to voters in Texas. My friend Ali, a community song leader, brought us together in song as we began and ended our time.
As I walked around the room replenishing postcards and checking in with people, I was struck by what I noticed all around me: conversation, laughter, connection—and hope.
At the end of the hour, as each table turned in their finished cards, a few parents approached me separately and said some version of the same thing: “We could have done even more. Next time, let’s go for 500!”
Two hundred postcards won’t solve everything that concerns us about our country or our world. But for an afternoon, we weren’t alone with our worries. We were doing something together, in community. And instead of leaving depleted, people left feeling inspired and energized, wanting to do more.
To me, this is mindfulness in action..
Mindfulness Is More Than Staying Calm
Mindfulness is sometimes portrayed as a way to detach from difficult feelings or remain calm no matter what’s happening around us. But that isn’t how I understand or practice it.
Mindfulness is about paying attention to our lives with kindness and curiosity. Noticing what’s happening inside of us and around us and responding with compassion and intention. Sometimes that response is to take action, even in very small ways.
I connected with a saying attributed to activist and musician Joan Baez at the beginning of the pandemic that I continue to return to when things feel overwhelming:
Action is the antidote to despair.
Our actions may feel small in comparison to the challenges we’re facing, but they still matter. And acting alongside other people who care not only increases our impact—it reminds us that we’re not alone.
Some of the youngest people at our postcard event won’t be able to cast a ballot for years. But they were learning that civic participation doesn’t have to wait until your eighteenth birthday. They were learning: I can be part of my community. My voice matters. There are things I can do when something is important to me.
And that’s something tangible we can offer our kids when the world feels overwhelming: the experience of finding their own sense of agency and discovering the power of being part of a community.
This Month’s Mindful Practice
Start where you are.
There will always be challenges and suffering in the world that are greater than any one of us can hold. When you notice yourself feeling overwhelmed, discouraged, or powerless about something happening in your community or the wider world, pause and reflect: What matters to me here? Where do I have agency? What’s one meaningful thing I can do?
Make space for what you’re feeling. Notice how it shows up in your body. Be curious about what the feeling might be telling you about what you care about. Then consider your next step.
Maybe it’s voting or reminding others to vote—like we did with the postcards. Maybe it’s having a conversation with your child, checking in on a neighbor, showing up at a community gathering, supporting an organization doing work you believe in, or speaking up when someone says something harmful.
And sometimes the next indicated step is to rest. Mindfulness can also help us recognize when we’ve reached our capacity and need to pause, recharge, and return when we have more to give.
Two things can be true at the same time: there are things beyond our control, and there are still places where we have agency.
Sometimes the antidote to despair is simply finding the next meaningful thing we can do, and then doing it together.
Ready to vote?
Find your polling place and other voting information for your state here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
Learn more about the Postcards to Swing States program here: https://turnoutpac.org/postcards/
