Leaning into joy and community

Processing this past week and some joyful things in my life

Like many people, this past week did not go as I had hoped. I was wholly unprepared for the United States to opt into another Trump presidency. Living in this progressive Berkeley bubble, I assumed that the pollsters were just “herding” and afraid to predict a Harris win, but I fully expected one, and boy was I wrong.

As I drove today from my house to the Hackermoms space for my biweekly writing session, I wondered, is this really what I’m going to write about this weekend? Does the world need yet another election results retrospective?

This past week has really been a lot. I’ve wondered why I suddenly feel SO tired. I’ve checked in with friends and shared incomplete thoughts on where to go from here. I’ve asked myself how I’ll find the right balance of reading enough news to stay informed but not so much that I’m glued to a screen the next four years. I’ve pondered what I want to do differently. I’ve been astonished and then curious about how different my experience and beliefs are from so many people. I’ve asked myself if I’m doing enough. And I’ve reminded myself to slow down and resist the urge to do something to scratch that productivity itch — giving myself some time for things to settle.

One thing I keep coming back to is that leaning into joy and community will be ever more important in the days, months, and years to come. Not in a “welp I’m in one of the most progressive places in the US so I don’t have anything to worry about, sucks for everyone else” way, but that joy and community will be so important to lean on and feed off of for the work that’s ahead. So for today, here are a few things I’ve been finding joy and comfort from.

Small creatures

If you have access to and enjoy the company of babies, toddlers, and pets, I highly recommend finding a way to spend some time with them. They have no idea what is going on in the world, and their joy is contagious. Seeing our almost 6 month old Wednesday morning give me a huge smile lifted my spirits considerably. Watching her double-fist sourdough crusts as part of her newfound love for solid foods was one of the highlights of my week.

Comfort food

My mother-in-law left us a pot of chicken pilau (very yummy and comforting chicken and rice dish) and leftover gulab jamun (fried dough balls soaked in syrup), that I enjoyed throughout this past week. On the more processed and less homemade front, I also enjoyed frozen pizza and pillsbury cookies.

Writing

Today I hit a 20 day streak on 750 words! I’ve had an on-again-off-again morning pages practice for years now, but even when I’m “on” I often miss a day here or there. I started writing on 750 words again and am surprised how “sticky” it is, given that my past efforts to do morning pages digitally seem to be less sticky than writing them by hand. It usually takes me anywhere between 9 and 12 minutes to type 750 words, and that is just low enough that I manage to carve out that time every day (well at least for the last 20 days).

Buy Nothing community

The Berkeley Buy Nothing community has been an integral part of my life for the past few years. I’ll share more about it in a future post, but just in in the last week, the exchange of things in and out of our home has been a pleasant distraction, while also helpful for decluttering and upgrading. And as an introvert, exchanging goods while never actually having to talk to anyone is just about the perfect interaction.

Things that have left our house just this week: two huge garbage bags of stinky ginkgo fruit to be processed into ginkgo nuts, a shoe rack, an unused tub of aquaphor, an ergobaby infant insert, baby clothes, maternity clothes, a coat rack, and cheese and dessert leftovers from a party.

Inbound, we got a gently used crib and a new mirror for above our fireplace. This sweet flow of goods between our home and our neighbors’ homes has created such a strong sense of community, even if I’ve not really met many of these people!

Cozy Fall delights

Mulled apple cider and snack plates. Watching Culinary Class Wars on Netflix. I even started the new season of Love is Blind. I’m letting myself slow down and lean into sofa blanket time. It’s not quite winter holiday decorations time yet, so we set our porch string lights (which were previously orange and purple for Halloween) to rainbow colored. Last week, I walked down to a letterpress studio a few blocks away and picked up this print from their free “Fresh Prints” project. I joked that I hope we’re feeling joyful after election day and that it would still be appropriate. Although the presidential election did not go as I had hoped, the sign feels more relevant than ever.

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Other post-election reflections I’ve appreciated:

• Election Week Healing Plan by Christine Koh

• How We Get Through by Robyn Ryle

• This substack note from Asha Dornfest

If you have some joyful things or comforts you’ve leaned into lately, feel free to share in the comments.