Shifting Perspective
Author illustration using Photoshop 2025, from originally AI-generated image (DALL-E) using the prompt: “a downcast young woman walks away”
Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl once wrote: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Until a course-correction eventually materializes, the path that the U.S. is taking looks downright terrifying, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and helplessly drowning.
It’s as if I’m on autopilot sometimes, going through day-to-day tasks and navigating routine priorities like those piddly issues really matter in the grand scheme of things. I’m trying to strike a healthy balance between staying informed, getting involved, and remaining sane. There’s so much that needs to change on a local to global scale, yet I’m incapable of making it all happen.
Yes, it’s daunting, but that doesn’t mean we’re completely helpless. We are at a turning point, and although we have little influence on others’ perspectives or decisions, it’s important to focus on what we can control, even if it’s “just” taking care of ourselves in that moment. We need to shift perspective and remember that self-care is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.
In terms of imagining some version of an optimistic future once the toxic dust settles from this presidential administration, educator and activist Daniel Hunter wrote: “On the days when I can’t sense any of these political possibilities (more than not), I zoom out further to the lifespans of trees and rocks, heading into spiritual reminders that nothing lasts forever.”
Everything around us may be burning (figuratively or literally – I mean no disrespect about recent devastating wildfires), but sometimes it helps me to recenter myself and my place in this vast universe. The birds still sing, and the sun still rises.
It’s fair to assume that any one of us lacks the individual power to make sweeping political changes, but we can stay the course and stand firm to our own value systems in the face of opposition. We can still be there for one another, and perhaps even more importantly, we need to continually guard our own mental health and wellbeing.
References & further reading:
Frankl, V. E. (1992). Man's search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy (4th ed.) (I. Lasch, Trans.). Beacon Press.
Hunter, D. (November 2024). 10 Ways to be Prepared and Grounded now Trump has Won. https://commonslibrary.org/10-ways-to-be-prepared-and-grounded-now-trump-has-won/#7_Reorient_your_Political_Map
