So here we sit, wedged in between two historic Wednesdays.

A week ago, an angry mob stormed the U.S. Capitol while congress was in session to certify the results of our presidential election.

And a week from now, Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46^th president of the United States.

A few miles south of us crews are working overtime to build as many miles of border wall as possible before the end of this administration. 2,300 miles to the northeast, congress is navigating impeachment proceedings.

The news cycle has been unfolding at a frantic pace. I have trouble pulling myself away from it at times.

I’m reading the raw reporting, the analysis of the reporting and the spin of the analysis. It’s remarkable how events can be spun and reframed. It becomes dizzying at times to hold on to truth and fact.

It’s an unsettling challenge I have experienced before in the war of words that our country has become, and it feels like it is on steroids at the moment.

So I return again to my core values. Compassion. Patience. Justice. Truth. I bring in my own process of faith, art, nature and conversation.  And I let these things guide me.

This has been a busy week. I just delivered my final edit of the next book to my publisher. I find myself in the borderlands doing new interviews. We are traveling through the hottest covid communities in the hottest covid state in the hottest covid nation on earth and doing our best to stay safe. There are stories to tell. And each one helps me understand the world a little more clearly.

It’s all to say that I am trying to hold on to the national narrative while keeping my eye on the work at hand. Plus a little self-care. It’s a balancing act. And it’s all important.

What are you doing to take care of yourself in this challenging season? How are you caring for community? What helps you chart a course toward truth, compassion and justice?

These are challenging times. Keep your sights on what is good and true and right. And care for the ones around you. You are not alone.