I’m not gonna lie to you. I wasn’t feeling gratitude in the seconds or even days after learning the outcome of this year’s presidential election. I was feeling fear, sadness, and anger. In those moments after realizing that Donald Trump would serve a second term, my husband reminded me that we have to do the work of healing ourselves. We have to have the hard conversations and bridge the divides.
His comments simultaneously break my heart and invigorate me. Heartbreaking, because maybe like many of you, I want leadership to guide us in healing conversations and inspire us to see beyond ideological differences. But also invigorating because his words affirm what I already know to be true: healing happens in dialogue, in community, and in storytelling.
With that in mind, I am grateful this Thanksgiving for an amazing community of fellow allies and colleagues who have reached out to me since Nov 5. I got notes of solidarity and compassion. I received genuine inquiries about my wellbeing and reminders of simple things I could do to feel grounded and loved. I was reminded that the path of resistance and evolution isn’t straight or short, that we’ve been here before, and that this election result isn’t the end.
I am grateful this Thanksgiving for my friends and family: college friends who cried and laughed on the phone with me, high school friends who shared a meal with me, and family who snuggled and talked late into the night.
I am grateful this Thanksgiving for creatives, of every sort, whose art inspires and reminds me that there is beauty aplenty in the world. From ballet, to poetry, and live music, during the month of November I have filled my senses with all kinds of joy. In doing so, I have been reminded that people of all sorts of disciplines and beliefs can come together in peace and harmony for the pleasure of being entertained. And how vital it is to connect with ourselves and each other in this way.
Finally, I am grateful for the women I encountered on Wednesday morning, Nov 6, who met my eye, asked how I was doing, and said things like: “We’re going to take care of each other.” These were strangers at the coffee shop, the local Target and Home Goods, and in the parking lot outside my office. We didn't owe each other anything but decency but what I actually received was a deep sense of community and frankly, love.
With each of these encounters I am reminded that I am not alone and neither are you. We have each other. There is a spirit of caretaking born out of the divisiveness in which we live.
May you rest in your respective communities this Thanksgiving, feeling seen and fed, not just literally but metaphorically. May you feel connected and inspired. I'll be back here after the dishes have been cleared.
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