Meg Evans

Like many of us, I am still decompressing from the bizarre presidential election that just won’t come to an end. As each day goes by, though, I am starting to feel more confident that America will once again be a country that has some dignity. As we go into Thanksgiving week, there are indeed reasons to be grateful.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

This weekend I’ll finish the Row the Great Lakes Challenge, which I mentioned in a post in August. As the weather has turned cooler, I’ve mainly been working out on the rowing machine; but last weekend was gorgeous, almost like summer, and my husband and I rowed on the river both days.

Getting exercise, whether indoors or out, is a good way to feel healthier and more balanced. We could all use more of that, especially now.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Now that it looks like the US presidential election is all over but the shouting (of which the apparent loser has been doing quite a lot), I am among those feeling much relieved. Just walking around the house today, I felt lighter, somehow—as if stress had lifted away after sinking deeply into my bones for such a long time that I almost forgot what normalcy felt like.

Much still needs to be done, of course; but after a long, hard slog through a parched landscape that sometimes looked like there wasn’t a drop of decency or civility to be found, we’re finally making our way out of the desert.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I still have landline phones in my house, although that has become less common. Most of the time, I would say that the convenience of having phones in several rooms is worth the expense because I am not among those who feel compelled to carry their mobile phone at all times, even when they’re just walking from one room to another.

Landlines are a bit of a nuisance when the phones are ringing with political robocalls, though. Or more precisely, I assume that is what they are, but I can’t say for sure because I never pick them up. Anyway, the phones are quiet now, and I just made myself a cup of my favorite vanilla caramel tea, so all is well with my little corner of the world this evening.

As for politics, I’ve already voted, based on such factors as integrity and values—which, I hope, are not going to become as rare as landlines.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

At a time when most of us feel that the country is at a crossroads, it can take some effort to envision a better future. It’s much needed, though, because creating a better society is not just about defeating the bad guys. When we take action from values, we move toward a future in which every choice won’t always have to be a fight. Instead, there will be many roads taking us in positive directions.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

This afternoon I filled out my absentee ballot, and my husband took it to the county board of elections drop box along with his ballot and our son’s. As the day went on, it got darker and colder, with rain showers passing through. My thoughts wandered while I sat at my desk finishing my work for the day. I pictured myself in a sacred cave wrapped in traditional shawls, meditating at an altar while candles burned brightly, silencing my mind’s chatter and allowing the universe’s energy to pass through me and change the world.

I wasn’t really there, of course—but imagination has an energy all its own.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Sunday was cool and rainy, so I chose a photo for my art display that had trees with red and orange leaves on a cloudy day. My husband looked at it and said, in a less than enthused tone, “It looks like fall.”

And I said, “Well, it is fall.”

Then he said that he wasn’t ready for the summer to be over yet. He got his wish and had a few more warm days this week, and I’ve been displaying more summerlike photos. The seasons always have to change, though—so we may as well make the best of it.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

In a conversation on another blog about the hot mess that was the first presidential debate, I mentioned that I am contributing to the Carter Center, which—for the first time ever—will be monitoring the election in the United States because the country now meets its criteria for a democracy at risk.

While it’s not easy to keep a positive outlook in such times, I am grateful for the strong tradition of American democracy; hopeful that our citizens will vote to restore a decent government; and heartened by seeing so many people doing what they can to help.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

With everything that we have had to contend with this year, sometimes it’s hard to see how the world is making any progress at all. Staying focused on a better future is a challenge when even the smallest step forward seems to be against the wind.

We’ll look around one of these days, though, and find that all of today’s worries are behind us. When that happens, I expect we’ll be able to see a lot farther.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

As summer’s long, bright days reach their end and autumn’s cool winds take their place, we may want to spend time indoors with a book, or perhaps a journal, and a cup of hot tea or coffee. Or we may feel more inclined to take long, solitary walks through fallen leaves in misty woods. Autumn is about change, about letting go; but it is also about finding, in that it gives us a nudge to become better acquainted with ourselves.

Like the earth, settling in for months of quiet slumber while life goes on under the surface, we’re making ready for new growth.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.