Just before the solstice rolled around I was talking with some friends. I was feeling exhausted from the long and brutal election. I was jittery because of all the anger that I heard: anger about immigrants, anger about the election results, the resurgence of white supremacists. It didn’t matter what the topic was. Everyone was angry. Added to that was the annual shift of the earth to darkness which always has been hard on me. Even with a light box and vitamin D and the cheer of the holidays, I struggle with the loss of light.

“I feel like I’m in a trough,” I said to my friends. They understood and helped me to find some way out.

“What does it look like?” one asked. My imagination took hold. “Tall walls, and it’s dim. But you know, there could be a ladder. And maybe it does slope upwards,” I replied.

“Are you alone?” the other inquired. Again, I sought to see in my mind what it was like. “No, now that you mention it, I’m not alone. There are others here, too,” I said with my voice lifting.

The world seems chaotic and difficult right now. There are delicate balances that are being thrown off kilter. The climate is teetering, the old alliances and political processes are shaken up for good or ill, and at moments even simple kindness seems to have gone out of style. I keep reminding myself, though, that when I really look around, there are people with me, good people who care and will work alongside me to do what we can to make things better. And while the trough seems deep, I trust that we are heading up a gentle incline. Just knowing that it’s possible gives me hope.

Use your imagination. You can find it, too.