Don't Panic

I worry needlessly, especially in those quiet times immediately before sleep, or in the mornings when my mind has time to run me ragged.

I've developed some tools to help with that which I think can apply to most people who are frustrated with the current political landscape.

One helpful thing to do is to visualize a "sphere of concern" which represent the things in your life you care about or otherwise take care to acknowledge.

It's not helpful to have lots of things in your sphere that you cannot control. You want to keep that sphere as small as possible, but no smaller. Making it too small would mean placing things outside the sphere which you can and must control lest there be consequences.

When you worry, try to enumerate what you're worrying about. If the same few things keep eating you, make a list.

Now, cross off that list any entry you can't do anything about. Start there.

For those who spend a lot of time worrying about politics, this should really clear your plate.

Trump is in office. The Democrats are dragging their feet, and the system overall takes time. These are things you can do nothing about, so effectively, they don't need to be in your sphere of concern.

Instead, focus on the consequences of those things - the ones that actually impact you - those will be in your sphere of concern, assuming you can do anything about them. Use that list.

You'll find your politics get far more local, if you're doing this right. You'll also find there are numerous avenues for direct action at the community level and neighborhood level.

For the things on that list you can do, focus on the most readily addressable item, and take even one small step toward resolving it that day. It will make you feel better and it's real, tangible progress.

Ultimately, that list needs to be short or you're going to get lost. It's really easy for us to let worries steer the big picture for us, but then we're navigating from a position of fear instead of from clarity.

I work near a church sometimes, and this section of downtown where I worked the other day also has a couple of homeless shelters, and so the homeless folks congregate in the area, and are very visible, and here are families in their Sunday best, going along to church walking right on by the homeless people without giving them a second look. I know some of them from around, as I used to take the time to talk to them back before my mental illness and the people paranoia that came with it. These churchgoers are worried about shaping their children and bringing them up "right" and even potentially about some stupid afterlife when they're practically stumbling over Matthew 25:31-46 in their rush to get to the pews on time! The reason I bring it up is these folks are worried about the wrong things. If you're so worried about making the service that you trip over the homeless and instill that into your kids, not to mention it makes your faith community look rather self-absorbed you're probably doing it wrong. Jesus said look after the marginalized people in society first and foremost and Paul said present your faith well. So take some time out and at least say "hi" to the people on the sidewalk.  They're people too. It's the easiest thing in the world. Some people are so worried about the big picture they don't even see God working right there in the street.

So this isn't just about the obvious goal of making you calmer, but more focused on what truly matters.

It takes time to take stock, and we'd all do well to keep control of our worries before they control us. They can lead us astray in all kinds of ways.

I'm sure people are going to take a lot of issue with me saying this, but by and large, politics is a distraction, and it's one we don't usually need.

Vote as you like, but between those times, don't let the media and the politics work you into a lather. They don't deserve much of your attention - but they need it to survive. Their survival however, is not your problem. Just don't forget who needs what from who. They want to sell you on fear to keep themselves relevant and to spin a narrative you'll pay attention to. So worry worry worry. Or walk away. That doesn't mean you can't vote.

Local action in the end, makes a bigger difference. Even treating people like people, as radical an idea as that is (see above) makes a big difference. Especially to your kids. How many votes is that worth?