I don't know about you, but—with the election just days away—I feel like I am inching toward the top of a steep and terrifying rollercoaster drop.
One of my coaching clients handmade this sash for me, an homage to Mary Poppins. I'm strutting around with it and mailing out final batches of postcards.
Back in July, I sent an email asking DO WE DARE?
Do we dare to hope?
Nobody knows the outcome of next week's election, but we do know one thing better now than we did in 2016.
We know our strength. We know our communities. We know how to care for ourselves and each other, no matter what happens.
So—as someone who spends my days holding space for people while they struggle, rebound, and recover—I have a simple question to help you stabilize in the coming days:
What are your anchors?
Who are the people and what are the places, practices and works of art that ground you in your body and your sanity?
👉 Make note of them while you have bandwidth to breathe, and turn to them in celebration and in grief—for the election or for triumphs and losses in your life that have nothing at all to do with politics.
Those anchors are your solace and strength.
Pro tip: Make sure to identify several because, as we know too well, nothing is forever and no one person or practice can shoulder that responsibility. We need a deep, interconnected root system to keep us upright.
Remember to be mindful of your interactions with social media in the coming weeks, as well.
Below, you'll find an article about one source of freedom, justice, and human health I hadn't given much thought to before: transportation.
If you live in Nashville, this piece will give you the inside scoop on how the upcoming transit referendum can get you where you're going cheaper and more easily—and how transportation infrastructure can begin to counteract decades of racial and economic inequity.
If you don't live in Nashville, it might make you curious about buses, trains, stoplights, and sidewalks in your own city.
Vote, friends. Check on your loved ones.
Sending you all my love. Let's go.
Sarah
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Nashville has the toughest commute in the U.S., according to Forbes, and traffic snaking through the urban core disproportionately impacts historically marginalized communities.
If approved, the transit referendum on the ballot this November 5th would reduce pollution and commute times—and build sidewalks, green spaces, bike lanes, and a web of easy access transit centers throughout the city, increasing direct access to jobs, medical centers, and entertainment venues.
It's about freedom, flexibility, and clean air—and every vote matters.
As Mayor O'Connell told me, transportation "helps us reclaim first minutes, then hours, then days and weeks of our lives to do things we love with people we love."
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Past posts can be found here.