I think there was a spark of hope announced recently when Pfizer announced the results of its COVID-19 vaccine trials with 90% effectiveness as a vaccination. There are ten other companies that are in final stages of trials for their product. Certainly welcomed news in an otherwise dismal on-going reports of skyrocketing new infections, increasing positivity rates, a new wave of deaths expected in the typical 2-3 week lag, and (for me) discouraging reports of pockets of people and communities that refuse to wear masks. Their logic escapes me.
… and then there are the next steps
The year 2020 might be remembered as the year “election night” last 4+ days. This election was also unique because of how Americans voted — a record number voted early, either in person or by mail. Because many states report absentee and Election Day ballots at different times, and absentee voters are disproportionately likely to be Democrats while Election Day voters are disproportionately likely to be Republicans, that made it tricky to follow the vote in real time. In some states like North Carolina and Ohio, that meant the initial vote totals included a disproportionate number of Biden votes relative to the final results; in others, like Michigan and Virginia, the initial totals included a disproportionate number of Trump votes. And in still others, Trump began to look stronger as more votes were counted on election night, but it became clear that Biden received more votes as the last few mail-in ballots were counted in the ensuing days. If you are interested, FiveThirtyEight.com has a 
The anger of the LORD blazes against his people, he stretches out his hand to strike them; The mountains quake, their corpses shall be like refuse in the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned back, his hand is still outstretched. (Isaiah 5:25)
Part of my experience includes 3+ years as a lay missionary in Kenya. It was an amazing and eye-opening experience. One of the pivotal experiences was seeing one’s home country through the eyes of another people. I remember one discussion with a chief of the Kikuyu people (one of the 50+ tribes of Kenya) who asked me if it was true that in the United States 51% of the people voted for something that was they way it would be. I responded that was accurate in our democracy. He sadly shook his head and noted that no Kikuyu chief would ever want 49% of the people to be unhappy. He would direct the people and leaders to continue to talk until at least 75% of the people agreed – the others would then understand that it was their communal duty to support such a decision. There are lots of other stories of people seeing us from afar and having some interesting insights.
There are 75 million Americans who voted for Mr. Biden. There are 71 million Americans who voted for President Trump. There is a divide, there are passionate people. There is an election that had been lost; an election won. And in the midst of all this I am reading “The Immortal Irishman” by Timothy Egan. The books details the life and times of Thomas Francis Meagher, from his rise as an Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Rebellion of 1848 (in the wake of the Great Hunger ((Irish: an Gorta Mór ; outside of Ireland known as the potato famine), his conviction
Did you know that gratitude has been scientifically studied? In just the last 10 years, there have been hundreds of studies that have documented the social, physical, and psychological benefits of gratitude. The graphic and the following text all point to some of the benefits of practicing gratitude: 
friarmusings 