As I write this, Wednesday afternoon, the top headline on Washington Post’s site is “Pro-Trump mob storms Capitol building.”

You, like me, might have naively thought that we’d left the tumult and uncertainty of 2020 behind simply because the calendar rolled forward to “2021.”

But this is clearly not the case.

So, how to navigate going forward?

I offer two ideas.

First, keep creating kindness.

It’s sometimes easier said than done, but fortunately life offers many opportunities to practice.

We get to start with those we live with and are related to (this is sometimes the hardest part), but we also get to practice being kind with those who don’t see the world the same way we do.

If it helps, keep in mind Florence Scovel’s words “No man is your enemy, no man is your friend, every man is your teacher.”

Second, realize that your life is already about something, then make sure that whatever it’s about is something you have chosen consciously.

Many people’s lives are unconsciously organized around things like getting by, or looking good, or winning.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but consider how different a life built around one of those things might be from a life based on something like love, or growth, or service.