If you live in the United States or follow US politics, then you know how devastating the past few months have been following the election results. I was in complete shock. Sure, I knew it was a vague possibility because he was on the ballot, but I never actually entertained the idea that it would happen. Not again. To have so many people choose someone to run our country who spews such vitriol, hate, and lies is… I don’t even have the words for it. It has been terrifying, rage-inspiring, and full of deep sorrow and disappointment.
Almost everyone I know is afraid of what the fallout will be, in so many different areas. We are worried for our bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, right to love freely, right to be ourselves, and right to practice our religion and spirituality. We are worried that this election result will embolden hateful rhetoric and actions, as it did back in 2016 the last time he was president. We are afraid for anyone who isn’t a conservative, Christian, straight, cisgender, non-disabled, middle-to-upper class white man.
Some parts of the past few months just haven’t felt real. My loved ones and I have prepared the best we can to keep ourselves and those we care about safe, and now inauguration day is here. I still don’t believe it.
Whatever the next four years may bring, and I sincerely hope it is not as bad as we are dreading, I do know one thing:
Love will win.
It may not always seem like it, but love will win. Our love is stronger than their hate. Our compassion and community are stronger than the fear they wish to instill in us. Our support for each other gives us a strength that they will never know. For while they are busy tearing people down and tearing families apart, we will be caring for one another and building each other up.
It may not seem like there is much of a bright side to look at, and there’s really not. Even in the best case where there is a mass realization among conservatives about how despicable it is to look at and treat other humans that way, a lot of people will still get hurt in the process. Rather than searching for optimism or dwelling in defeatism, I encourage you to cultivate hope.
People talk of hope as if it were this transient fragile thing, entirely ebullient, and easily shattered by harsh words and shitty circumstances. But that is not hope. Hope is the acknowledgement that circumstances are indeed terrible, but affirming that we still have the power to make things better, even if it only feels like it in small ways. Hope is determination. Hope is ingenuity. Hope is compassion for yourself and others. Hope is resilience. Hope is rising again to fight another day. And, particularly relevant for the next four years, hope is resistance. I’m not advocating for toxic positivity, nor do I think all the “good vibes” in the world will fix this, but if we allow those who hate and discriminate to make us feel defeated before we even begin, then they have already won.
Joy is also resistance. Prioritizing joy and care is so important, and will be especially important in the coming years. We cannot fight without end. We cannot fight without breaks. We cannot fight unless we have fuel to keep going, unless we see the good in the world that we are fighting for. So find those things, whatever they are for you, however small. Find joy in your day. Find joy in other people. Find joy in your spirituality. Find joy in your morning tea or coffee, in the relationships you have, in the communities you share, in the beauty of nature, in the deliciousness of a meal, in the coziness of a blanket, in your adorable pet, and in the starry sky at night. Find that joy and savor it. Use it to help you keep going when things get rough. Let it give you purpose. Let it give you a light to shine in the darkness.
Some prayers to Aphrodite for today and the years to come:
May you be surrounded by love and blessed with courage – So mote it be.
Priestess of Aphrodite 