My Response to a Broken World is to Lean into Quiet Joy
We have the power to choose
I woke up yesterday morning to the news of an assassination attempt on one of our presidential candidates. The next four months was going to be hard enough to endure without this. I took a moment to breathe, and then made a decision. I would look for joy all day.
Our world is broken.
There is so much that is wrong. There are so many people suffering. There is anger, resentment, fear, hatred, lies, and nastiness enough to go around the world a hundred times. This is not the world I want to live in. So, I choose not to.
I can stay down the rabbit hole, refreshing my newsfeed all day long, or I can put my phone away and go out and garden. I can sit in the sun. I can read a delicious book. I can bake bread, listen to Bach, have a long, luxurious chat with someone I love.
What is happening in the world is beyond my ability to change. I want the world to be different, but I have no power over that. My godmother, who is a wise 96 years old says, “Change what you can, and that’s your own dear self.”
So, I took her advice. I put away my phone and worked in my garden. I listened to the birds, and watched the butterflies float lazily from flower to flower. I ate lunch on the porch. I sat…
