When I am queen, the US campaign cycle will be shortened to 60 days, period. Our British friends manage to get all contrary and polarized with campaigns conducted in 25 working days (you read that right). They have snarky town halls, divisive memes, public mud-slinging with all the trimmings, and seem mostly content with how their abbreviated campaign window works.
The Brits even require equal coverage of opposing candidates on commercial media without any sign of this resulting in the end of the world (we used to have the same requirement, quaintly referred to as the Fairness Doctrine). If you want to read more about the UK alternatives to spending billions on campaign ads, this article is a little dated, but offers a good summary.
I am weary of politics, anxious about the election, and ashamed of what we’ve allowed our political rhetoric to do to our sense of neighborliness and community. I am not queen of a big enough world to do much about all that, but I am the queen of me.
In that capacity, I have issued a few royal proclamations recently. The first of which says that after listing my five specific gratitudes at the end of the day, I get to listen to three songs. Music is about the best tonic for preserving neuroplasticity, aced out only by the combination of music and dance. Music can elevate mood, reduce blood pressure, reduce heart rate, and boost memory, for starts. So I’m signing off with the good stuff–Huey Lewis, Dave Brubeck, Creedence, the Pointer Sisters, Vivaldi, Phil Collins, and one of my favorites, Rostropovich conducting the NSO in The Stars and Stripes Forever in Moscow. (Or if guitar is more your thing, this version by acoustic soloist Doug Smith is jaw-dropping.)
I am donating to a charity of my choice (different ones), every day in November. Not a lot, but enough to remind me that I’m not powerless. Compared to a lot of people on this earth, I DO live like a queen. Twenty bucks can buy fifteen pounds of rice, which cooks 
up to nearly a hundred servings. Thanks to my readers, I have that to donate, and really, much of the benefit of generosity lands on the giver rather than receiver.
I am planting my Holland bulbs. They are the easiest of yard flowers. No weeding, no watering, no fertilizing even (the first couple years). I put in a bag of daffodils and it reminds me, “Spring will arrive, flowers will bloom.” I also like the idea that anybody who drives by my house next March will get to see some cheery blooms, and of course, gardening is good for both physical health and mood.
So I’m doing what I know to do (in addition to binging the books of the late Dick Francis), and I think it’s helping me be less fretful and unsteady. I am not changing the course of the universe, but I am putting aside the doom-scrolling for small actions that have meaning for me and keep me focused on the good and the constructive, of which there is much in this life.
How do you batten down the hatches when the winds of worry threaten to blow your house down?
I do yoga and Tai chi for the brain/flexibility thing, find things in nature to photograph, & binged Lois McMaster Bujold’s 5 gods world books. The Duck Francis books are a good idea, haven’t read them for ages. Also planting garlic & winterizing my yard, chokecherry juice poking at me the be made into jelly. & & -thanks for you blog, makes me think –
I have not watched the news or read any campaign crap (cuz that is what it is) in 3 weeks. I knew I was having surgery, so I opted for the mail in option. I voted and paid a lot more attention to our local representatives.
I walk when the winds of worry settle on my shoulders and I read. I have been reading a lot these past 3 weeks.i have watched a few shows on Netflix and Prime.
Am enjoying Lord Julian’s Christmas story this evening. A great book and a sleeping corgi are making me happy this evening.
Dave Brubeck is THE BEST!!
I have been reading in the afternoon outside in the sunshine, with Romantic era classical music playing quietly next to me (Baroque ends up making me tense with its constant marching cadence) And it has been so soothing to me!!
Still trying to recover from another category 5 hurricane destroying my city (2 in 5 years!) which has left me feeling pretty raw.
I’ve read your work for years, but this is the first time I’ve been on your website. The general tone is so relaxing and makes me smile. I love the views of gardens/flowers on your blog. I agree with you about our elections. Most of us get to the point we just want them over with. I just finished Lord Julian’s Christmas book and I loved it. Especially when my children were small, Christmas was full of fretting about gifts, expected meals,guests, shopping and fitting in Christmas parties. It gave me great sympathy for Julian. Also so many good endings in this book and non-fatal mysteries resolved. Can’t wait for the next one!
Actually, the clear description of villainy or good and evil in Dick Francis books has come to my mind when I am re re re reading your books. You describe and name selfishness and bullying. You describe the consequences to others of these behaviors. I think these descriptions have helped me realize what I am observing or experiencing even as I am reveling in the comfort zone of your books. The uglier this recent campaign has gotten the more I have retreated to the familiar. I think the idea of donating a bit every day for a month is an excellent idea.
I read romance and some cozy mysteries, mostly, to retreat from the ugliness of the political world. Unfortunately, as I go through my emails (I have separate ones for separate functions), I do see the Yahoo News page in between but I try to be careful what I click on. However, just seeing the headlines can be alarming. I voted early and I have donated to some state and national candidates, as well as some less focused on particular candidates (Social Security Works since that’s my age group and Social Security is very important to me).
I very much want to have our political season shortened significantly. I remember when not much happened before the parties picked their candidates in the summer and then started actual campaigning after Labor Day. So, just two short months or so. I am so looking forward to Nov. 6 when most of the political TV ads will stop being aired!
I am on a news fast, I look at non-election headlines just to have some connection once a day,and that has made a huge difference to my stress levels. In the car it is Bach fugues, whatever it is (math?) about Bach, it is like a hug for my brain (but much better than that sounded). Lately, like you Grace, I have been reminding myself of my autonomy and supporting things that are important to me that do not get a lot of attention. I’m being ruthless with what I am reading right now, limited to only things that nourish me, doing yoga, eating healthy, trying to sleep well. I volunteer in hospice and that is really a perspective giver.
You are correct that our election season is entirely too long and the anxiety over differences of opinion can be exhausting. While I am somewhat of a news junkie generally (I read bits and pieces of at least 8 different newspapers and / or blogs most days), I have been making a conscious effort to disengage lately as it has just become too much. I figure when the election has been decided, I’ll hear about it. That, of course, hasn’t stopped me from donating to my favorite candidates and writing GOTV letters. When I really want to unplug, I usually head to my kitchen. Every November 1st, I start to think about, and prepare for, Thanksgiving, laying in non-perishable supplies and cooking parts of the meal that can be done ahead and frozen for the big day. Putting on some classic rock music in my kitchen, cooking up a storm while dancing around (like no one is watching) is usually enough to get me out of the cycle of worry and panic. Stay safe. Stay well everyone!
Singing helps me a lot when life feels dreadful. The choir rehearsed and sang this morning and that is always good medicine for me. We did a piece called Blessing to the World by Karen Drucker. It is a very positive song in which both the singers and those being sung to are all identified as being blessings to the world.
I think it helped all of us as we are all experiencing high anxiety right now.
I walked too. Getting out in nature, even neighborhood nature is a huge help. And when it’s time for a rest, there is nothing like one of your books to settle me.
I want you to know that your description of Lord Julian’s brain freeze in “Unreliable Honor” was so incredibly well done, I really felt how terrifying that experience must be. I also felt the comfort from his brother and family. That whole section of the book is just superb. It made me wonder if you have known someone personally who has had similar experiences.
Thank you, Grace, for all the good your writing has done for me.
Thanks for your reminder, Grace, of music being wonderful for both body and soul. Must get searching.
Two months sounds glorious, as does equal time on air. When things get too much, I sew something complicated, listen to audiobooks while I knit or weave, or go for a walk. Mostly I try to remember what I can control and breathe slowly…
Audiobooks to read me to sleep & keep my mind on cheerier things.
Music- currently on a world music kick, heavy on the Bollywood numbers.
Weeding my rose pots on my porch. My neighbor’s lawn tractor kicks up serious weeds when he mows my lawn, so I get to be destructive & violently rip them out by the roots. Gets some snarl out of my system.
Dishes & house cleaning. Dusting the cobwebs blows them out of my mental belfry.
I sleep, if I can. “Wake me up when it’s all over…”. (Avicii)
I can’t get up once I am down. That along with my brown thumb keep gardening from being any kind of pleasure. To stay away from doom scrolling I have developed a collection of audio books which are going nonstop when I am not reading a book old fashion style. I have forgotten how I used to have music going all day long when I am puttering around the house, mostly the classical radio station because I love that they explain everything & I learned a lot. Thanks for reminding me of the joy I am going to get back to it.
I too have been known to binge on Dick Francis. And listen to music (Monteverdi’s Zefiro Torna today) for election escape. Rather glad to be back in Canada, where the longest election period in memory was 11 long weeks, after our stint in Washington, DC. Wondering whether, in a worst case scenario, there will be refugees arriving across the St. Lawrence in hordes. Time to get out of the house, rake up the leaves, and generally engage in as much distraction as possible.
Once a month I have a spa day. Mani, pedi, facial massage. My masseuse and nail tech are more than half my age. Just spending a couple of hours with these young ladies who care so much about others is good for my soul. It helps to remind me there is good in our future.
During the British general election campaign in May/June this year I watched one news bulletin per day and no party political broadcasts produced by any political party. I then went to Canada on holiday and returned after the election was over. Due to not being able to vote as the postal ballot papers were released after I went on holiday! So for the first time in my adult life I didn’t vote. I enjoyed watching films and reading and of course being on holiday helped me through this period.
GARDEN! Spring, summer & Fall.
Winter in my basement with growlights.
Music & a good book, ALWAYS!
cAROL, YOUR ARDENT FAN.
I retreat into a good book. After all, if the TV is off, no political ads can enrage me with their nastiness. Neither can any political speeches on the news. When I drive through town I see various candidate’s signs in front yards. And I’m glad. Democracy in action. I wish we had a short time for campaigning. It lasts too long here. You can thank Jimmy Carter for that one, as he played the long game. Oh well. Democracy in action.
Wonderful suggestions and comments from everyone! For reward/restoration: audiobooks; nature – where I unplug even from audiobooks; yardwork (literally, dirt under the fingernails); music (Bach, Mozart, Herr Beethoven, Chicago, Police, 70’s Memphis soul music); asking my husband not to read the most offensive news stories to me or swear at the incoming administration; mentoring women who are nearing their prison release; reaching out to friends with intention.