WHAT DO YOU MEAN, “How to keep going,” you may ask? I’m fine, you may say. The increasingly fraught political landscape, the ominous signs of climate change, the erosion of voting rights, the crushing “invisible hand” of global capitalism, and a lack of space to collectively process any of the above — these are all things that are totally fine and normal and do not bother you. Your eye is not twitching right now as you say this.
Hush, you. I made a list of five easy steps to help you keep on keeping on. Read it and weep. I mean, stop weeping.
1. Check In With Yourself
Hello, Totally Fine Person. On a scale of one to “as often as it takes,” how many times per day do you stare out a rainy window while sad violins play? Believe it or not, the desired answer is zero times, because where are those sad violins even coming from? You should acknowledge that your musically accompanied feelings of woe are both unproductive and empirically impossible — unless you live with a string quartet.
2. Feel Your Feelings
Yeah, I know, I hate it, too. I’d rather be a robot. But even robots need to perform maintenance on themselves for optimum performance (Editors’ note: This metaphor has not been approved by the Sojourners editorial board as it may contain an excess of Protestant work ethic). Find somewhere safe to do it and just turn into a big blob of emotion. Crying purges toxins from the body. You are performing maintenance and soon you will be at full functionality again. (Editors’ note: Beth, find a new metaphor or we will turn this car around.)
3. Find Your Serotonin
What’s the one thing that still, even in these dark times, warms your heart and brings you joy? Find that thing, and then bite deep into it and suck out every last drop of good brain chemicals that it can give you. Absolutely murder it until there’s nothing left to be murdered. That’s right: You’re a serotonin vampire now. And now you’re strong enough to find new prey — that is, new sources of joy and fulfillment. (Editors’ note: When we asked for a new metaphor, this isn’t what we had in mind.)
4. Feel Your Feelings, With Friends This Time
Vulnerability is good for you. It builds character, and it turns you into a Cool Rebel™, creating community in defiance of the capitalist establishment. Sometimes the best way to stick it to the man is to be emotionally vulnerable. Please imagine me sitting backward in my chair like a cool youth pastor as I say this. Anyway, talk to your friends, and God, and the universe, and whoever was responsible for the sad violins. Those were nice violins, even if they were empirically impossible. Remember: Violins is not the answer.
5. Notice That You’re Already Getting Better
We’re in the home stretch — the part with the praising God and the practicing gratitude and the Instagram photos of your breakfast food captioned #blessed. Growth means looking for joy, finding it, and feeling it — no matter the state of the world. You’re already doing it, you glorious vampire and/or robot.
You’ve got this.
Beth Cooper-Chrismon was director of individual giving at Sojourners. She contains multitudes.
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