One reason that I choose to get most of my political news from Heather Cox Richardson's daily newsletter is that she occasionally just stops to appreciate the beauty of her world, often with photos shot by her husband, Buddy Poland. She posted this one on Election Day 2024 with this caption: "Since results still seem a long way away, I'm going to call it a night, and remind everyone that no matter what happens in the next several hours, the sun is going to come up again tomorrow." Photo by Buddy Poland.

Recently Cameron Bellm has been reading the diaries of journalist, social activist, and co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy Day. Published under the title, The Duty of Delight, the diaries span from the 1930s, when the Catholic Worker was founded, up to Dorothy’s death in 1980. "Dorothy was clear-eyed," she says. "She saw and paid far more attention than the average person did to the suffering that surrounded her. In her diaries, she details the ups and frustrating downs of the Catholic Worker community, but she also documents the many economic, political and social nightmares of the twentieth century. She was not one to bury her head in the sand. But she was not one to give into despair either."

"Dorothy was exasperated with the world more than she was not: war, ruthless capitalism, poverty, racism, nuclear stockpiles, anything and everything that dehumanized people. But she was also so nourished by all that was good: waves on the sea and the laughter of her grandchildren, operas and symphonies and the wind that blew through her ailanthus tree.

"When I found myself despairing last week, I gave myself an assignment: find something beautiful, let it nourish you, and carry on."

Article: The Duty of Delight in Times of Despair