Finding gratitude in bewildering times

And, remember, there are only 734 days until the midterms!

A moment at the Santa Barbara Channel Isla Vista beach on Thanksgiving Day.

I have been having trouble finding after-election gratitude. Which wouldn’t be surprising except I have spent the past decade immersed in practicing, learning about, and writing about gratitude. I even published two gratitude journals and started this Substack with the title Gratitude Mojo. Somewhere along the way, the mojo of my gratitude scampered into a rabbit hole.

Don’t get me wrong … I am not grateful for the results of Nov 5 and I believe there are dark days ahead of us as we face severe challenges to our democracy, our economy, and our most vulnerable neighbors.

However, I am finding ways to be grateful for this relatively gentle wake-up call telling us that millions of our fellow Americans are scared of the future and they made it clear that what we were saying did not make them feel safe.

GENTLE?

I know the results of this election and seeing the billionaires begin to flex their muscles do not feel gentle in the least, however, imagine waking up on the morning of February 24, 2022, in Ukraine to find your country invaded by Russia. Imagine living day-to-day with death and destruction surrounding you and waking up on Nov 6 2024 knowing that your most powerful friend may have just thrown you to the dogs.

Imagine seeing your population chart nose dive.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing intelligence and undisclosed sources, reported a grim milestone: about one million Ukrainians and Russians have been killed or wounded since the war began. — Aljazeera

Or imagine being in Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered 1,195 people and took 251 hostages. Or, on any morning since that date in Gaza as Israel retaliated killing an estimated 44,000 men, women, and children.

There are so many places in the world where violence is a daily threat and human rights are being lost. We, in the U.S., have had problems and challenges, however … to date … we are not at war … we have not had famine … we have had democracy and leadership that has built an economy resilient enough to handle the natural disasters that have come our way.

We still have a lot to be grateful for. Here are a few of mine:

• I am grateful that we still have democratic processes to help us avoid the worst of what may come from the new billionaire administration … as well as many smart people and well organized groups to resist the worst of what is being planned.

• I am grateful for every person who resists the coming implementation of the Project 2025 playbook, much denied but now being carried out step-by-step.

• I am grateful for Substack and BlueSky providing a space for us to gather without being managed by a toxic billionaire.

• I am grateful for the historians who calm the waters by telling us the stories of what we’ve overcome before. (Dear

  Heather Cox Richardson
  , your job may never be done.)

• I am especially grateful for the independent journalists and pundits who are filling the yawning gaps left by the spineless, billionaire-owned media.

• I am grateful for all the kind hearted people who still believe in democracy, inclusion, and in protecting our neighbors, our children, our land and animals, and our planet. **

We are going to get through this. This election hurt, but it is making us stronger, smarter, and more strategic. We have a strong ideal that has held together for 248 years … government of the people, for the people, by the people. It’s called democracy and it’s time to go to work to keep it.

Rest, take care of yourself, and, when you’re ready, find a way to support democracy.

** And for the rest of you, please read

Jeff Tiedrich

who says all the things I don’t have the guts to say and says it so very, very colorfully.

What are you grateful for in these bewildering times?