How to Handle the Election and Other Crisis
Lately, I’ve been talking to students and friends about the waves of stress, panic, and anxiety so many of us are feeling about the election—and, really, about the multiple crises we’re collectively facing. The stakes feel incredibly high, and there are very real things to fear. I feel it too.
But in the midst of this overwhelming intensity, I’ve found a twofold process that helps. It’s not just about this election; it’s about navigating any moment of profound uncertainty and fear. I hope it might help you too.
Step 1: Sweep the Garden
There’s a Zen proverb that says, “In Zen, there are only two things: we sit and we sweep the garden. It doesn’t matter how big the garden is.”
Sweeping the garden represents the actions we can take—the things within our control. When faced with enormous challenges, it’s easy to feel paralyzed, like nothing we do is enough. But even the smallest actions matter.
Call your representatives and senators.
Volunteer to help get voters to the polls.
Support causes that align with your values.
Work on your corner of the issue, however small it may seem.
It doesn’t matter how big the garden is. What matters is that we do what we can in our little corner. Even when it feels inadequate, taking action helps shift the focus from helplessness to agency.
Step 2: Sit with the Uncontrollable
The second part of the process is sitting—letting go of what is beyond your control.
There is so much we cannot control: the election outcome, the resolution of crises, the healing of suffering. Anxiety often arises because we’re holding onto these uncontrollables, hoping we can somehow will them into being. But that’s not how it works.
Instead, we need to release these fears. For me, this means sending out prayers, wishes, or heartfelt intentions:
Pray for healing.
Wish for an end to violence.
Hope for liberation and justice.
Even if you don’t believe in a higher power, you can release your intentions to the universe, to something greater than yourself. It’s about acknowledging what’s eating you up inside and offering it up—because holding onto it only fuels anxiety.
The Dance of Action and Surrender
This process is a dance:
Action in the world—sweeping the garden.
Care for yourself—sitting with what you can’t control.
One doesn’t work without the other. If we only act, we risk burnout. If we only sit, we risk despair. Together, they create a balance that allows us to engage meaningfully without being consumed by fear.
Trust the Process
Even when we can’t see the results immediately, trust that something is shifting. The small actions you take, combined with the energy you release, ripple out in ways that may be invisible now but are no less real.
So, sweep your little corner of the garden. Take the actions you can. Then sit, release, and trust. Between the sweeping and the sitting, change is happening—within and around us.
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