It’s Wednesday again. I’m still taking a hard break from all things politics. Honestly, it’s been striking how incredibly peaceful it’s been — and how easy. If you deliberately shut out politics, it’s pretty easy to avoid the news. I don’t know if this is ultimately a good thing. I know that I will have to re-engage with politics eventually to stay informed and, ultimately, to resist. But for the time being, it’s allowed me to rebuild a bit of mental capacity. I’m sure many of you are struggling in the week since the election. I encourage you to take a break if you need to, at least temporarily.

I remember back in 2016 when the shock was felt, a writer at The Atlantic asked readers about the poems they thought about to help with sudden change. One that I’ve turned to over and over again in the past 8 years is Wendy Cope’s “Differences of Opinion.” There’s no solution to be found it, but “the planet goes on being round” is a refrain that sticks in my head.

Ever the dork ass nerd, my own submission wasn’t exactly a poem, but it is something that I always think about when depression and anxiety overtake me. It’s the oath of the Blue Lanterns, a DC superhero team whose power is derived from hope.

In fearful day, in raging night,
With strong hearts full, our souls ignite
When all seems lost in the War of Light
Look to the stars– For hope burns bright!

I have a statue of the Blue Lantern Saint Walker that I bought during a particularly overwhelming period in graduate school. Next to it, I keep a Blue Lantern ring on my bookshelf, and have even taken that ring with me on marathons and to job interviews as a totem to help me make it through. The mantra of the Blue Lanterns is “all will be well.” And while I’m not sure I truly believe that all will be well, I also know I need to keep hoping, or the anxiety might genuinely consume me.

What I have missed during this break from politics is the community. While I’ve been hanging around elsewhere on the Avocado, we’ve built something incredible here in the PT: heart, camaraderie, friendship, support, and humor. And while I expect humor has been in short supply, I know the community has rallied for one another. And things like that help me keep up the hope that we’ll get through this.

So I hope you can join me in looking to the stars and letting that hope shine. All will be well.