Staying Grounded: Post-2024 US Election

Written By Samanta Krishnapillai (she/her)

A Mini-Guide For Staying Grounded in Having Hope While Being Radically Present

Avoiding what’s happening in the world can feel safe, but it’s actually a dangerous form of practicing “right to comfort”. Telling ourselves “everything will be fine” might protect us from discomfort in the short term, but it leaves both ourselves, and our fellow people, vulnerable long term. We can’t keep avoiding reality and hoping someone else will take care of it. This isn’t the kind of thing we can wait out.

We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope. - MLK Jr.

Here’s the thing, being present to what’s happening doesn’t mean we abandon hope or stop pursuing joy; in fact, we need those things now more than ever.

What we are inviting you to do is live in the nuance. Manage your mental wellness by pausing, not ejecting from reality.

So let’s find that balance—let’s protect our democracy while still making room for hope, wellness, and joy. This moment calls for courage, and by showing up fully, we protect not just our present but our future too.

5 Ways We Stay Grounded, Present & Hopeful

(1) Watch or Read Civil Rights Activist John Lewis's essay.

It was written before he died in 2020 and published on the day of his funeral in July 2020, during the height of COVID-19 and about two months after the murder of George Floyd.

(2) Reading, and Re-Reading, Everything By Audre Lorde

(3) Watch Michael B. Jordan read one of Fred Hampton’s most famous speeches at MLKNow (~2016).

More of a playlist girlie? Listen here.

(4) Watch Amanda Gorman Perform Her Poem The Hill We Climb at the 2021 Inauguration of Biden/Harris.

(5) Maya Angelou’s Live Performance of And Still I Rise






(6) Bonus Jonas – Join A Community Of People That Give’s A F*ck, Because You Aren’t Alone 🫂

Join Social Good Crew & RSVP to Our Community Call on Monday Nov 11, 6-8pm ET

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Samanta Krishnapillai (she/her)

Samanta Krishnapilai describes herself as a reluctant optimist, collectivist, accidental entrepreneur and creative problem solver. She founded On Canada Project in April 2020.

Samanta is the first descendant of both sets of grandparents to be born in Canada, on the lands of the [Haudenosaunee] and [Mohawk] people. Her parents were born in Sri Lanka and left because of the state-sanctioned oppression and genocide of the Tamil people on that land, a direct result of the centuries of colonization that occurred on that Island before the British finally left in 1948. While her family did not benefit from colonization in Sri Lanka, Samanta and her family do benefit from colonization here in Canada.

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