We need to keep fighting. We need to be able to keep fighting. What do you do to keep going? You give yourself what you need—or as much of it as you can—whatever it may be, so that you can stay in the fight for the long haul.
Food. Sleep. Water. These are must-haves. But most of us need more. Alcohol is an easy flippant answer that might have more than a wisp of truth to it in these hard times, but of course you don’t want it to come to be a thing that stands in the way of your ability to keep on in the fight. Still, feel free to pour a glass while you read this.
But what else?
Me, I’m listening to my cat purr. I’m thinking about watching a favorite video of my toddler with his boundless energy and enthusiasm and sheer sweetness. Music—I favor Tim Eriksen and Kasey Chambers. Exercise. Baking, though at a certain volume you really need to identify people to pass it along to. Friends—who can be the recipients of baking largesse as well.
Reading may be the greatest escape. I’ve always buried myself in romance novels—though these days they’re often romance novels with a strong political bent. Shifting genres, Daniel José Older’s books are also great for simultaneously escaping from the current reality and mentally gearing up for spiritual war—and his latest, Dactyl Hill Squad, may be marketed as a kids’ book, but that did not stop me from loving every page. In the grinding 10 days leading up to Election Day, a piece of non-fiction helped me with the concept of determination: Cheryl Suchors’ 48 Peaks. If she could climb mountains through breast cancer and a busted knee and the deaths of loved ones, I could keep going, right?
How about you? What’s keeping you strong and healthy and plugging away at changing the country for the better?