Buddhist Wisdom
for Election Anxiety
In just a matter of days, the 2024 United States presidential election
will take place. Many people in the country and around the world have
spent recent months immersed in its constant news cycle — a 24/7
marathon of debates, opinions, polls, and forecasts. While there have
been moments of hope and inspiration, we’ve also witnessed great waves
of anger, grief, division, and anxiety, each piling on to the weight of
an already heartbroken world.
In a strange way, the level of divisiveness on display in recent months
has profoundly reminded me of our interconnectedness — how our actions
ripple beyond ourselves and into the world around us. Our votes, our
compassion, and our hope become part of a collective path — a journey
towards a future we create together.
Earlier this week, I read through a selection of gathas for daily practice in Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Peace is Every Breath. I was particularly struck by his verse for “Ending the Day.” He writes:
The day is ending,
our life is one day shorter.
Let us look carefully at what we have done.
Let us practice diligently,
putting our whole heart into the path of meditation.
Let us live deeply each moment in freedom,
so time does not slip away meaninglessly.
How can we use our time most meaningfully? How can we make every day
count? It could be staying up-to-date on the very real worldly concerns
we’re faced with and taking whatever action we can. It might also mean
loosening our grip on worry and anxiety, grounding ourselves in the
knowledge that mindful choices nourish not only ourselves, but the world
around us. By acting mindfully, we can “look carefully at what we have
done” at the end of the day and proudly know we did our best to be of
benefit.
If you’re looking for ways to settle your mind this weekend, I’ve found
solace in the wisdom of the three pieces below, each written with times
like these in mind. May they help you live deeply — each moment — in
freedom.
—Lilly Greenblatt, Digital Editor, Lion’s Roar
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Are
you experiencing strong, difficult emotions due to the upcoming
election? Four Buddhists offer advice for dealing with despair, anger,
grief, and anxiety.
Harry Um: The
consequences of this election can feel paralyzing, but the therapist in
me recalls that since everything is always changing, everything has a
cause and effect, which means that every development will result in new
responses and resistances. What I do or say, no matter how big or small,
can make a difference.
So, do it. Don’t overthink it. Do what comes next.
I
may make some missteps along the way, and I may come into tension with
those who disagree with me. But I trust that my wisdom and compassion
will bend my actions toward the arc of justice.
What can you do? What is your next step? This is very confusing. And yet, at the same time, it is very clear. Only go straight.
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If you find all the bad news overwhelming, Buddhist teacher Judy Lief has some meditations to help you relieve your anxiety.
You could pretend none of this is happening, that it has nothing to do
with you. But because you are human, like it or not, you cannot help but
care about such things.
You need to recognize your ability to care and appreciate it for the
gift it is. You can actually care about something beyond yourself! You
can care about others, you can care about our Mother Earth, you can care
about structures of oppression. How amazing that you have not shut
down, that you have not given up!
What about when you feel that the intensity of this world is just too
much? When you’re caught between freaking out and shutting down?
This is the moment when you need to step back and get some perspective.
When you feel your mind/heart filled to the point of claustrophobia with
thoughts of disaster, fear, and despair, it is good to bring to mind
the many counter examples of human kindness and sanity, which are so
easily overlooked..
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Roshi Joan Halifax reflects on the idea of “wise hope” and why we should open ourselves to it.
As
Buddhists, we know that ordinary hope is based in desire, wanting an
outcome that could well be different from what will actually happen. Not
getting what we hoped for is usually experienced as some kind of
misfortune. Someone who is hopeful in this way has an expectation that
always hovers in the background, the shadow of fear that one’s wishes
will not be fulfilled. This ordinary hope is a subtle expression of fear
and a form of suffering.
Wise hope is not seeing things unrealistically but rather seeing things
as they are, including the truth of suffering — both its existence and
our capacity to transform it. It’s when we realize we don’t know what
will happen that this kind of hope comes alive; in that spaciousness of
uncertainty is the very space we need to act.
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