Resilience 2026

We’ve all seen the images: stoic people facing impossible odds. Pioneers crossing rough terrain in freezing conditions, families surviving drought and dwindling supplies, soldiers and civilians rising to the moment when disaster strikes. Some of those stories end in tragedy, others in triumph. However, the part we often overlook is what happens after. The quiet, unglamorous work of continuing on. That’s resilience.

Those are the stories worth remembering as we enter this year: a year that could usher in a new era of healing or feel like the final unraveling of the country we love. I’m hoping for the former. And with that hope in mind, I want to explore how we can cultivate resilience even as the voice in our heads whispers, “Buckle up. It’s going to be a rocky 2026.”

How do we withstand the onslaught of bad news piled on top of bad news? Citizens harmed with no justice. Institutions failing to protect the vulnerable. Leaders more invested in spectacle than service. A political landscape that feels increasingly chaotic, cynical, and disconnected from the people it’s supposed to represent.

It can feel like the last days of the French aristocracy with lavish displays at the top while people sleep in cars, struggle to buy groceries, or lose their jobs by the tens of thousands. It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of corruption, cruelty, and systems that seem designed to exhaust us.

And yet, even in the middle of all that noise, something unexpected broke through.

In Texas, in one of the reddest counties in the state, Democrat Taylor Rehmet won the January 31, 2026 special runoff for Texas Senate District 9 with about 57% of the vote, flipping a district that Donald Trump had carried by 17 points in 2024. By all reports, the Republican candidate outspent the Democrat by a factor of ten or more, and still lost.

It wasn’t a miracle. It wasn’t a revolution. It was simply good news. The kind of news that often gets buried under the rubble and the noise. The kind of news that feels like a hot cup of tea on a snowy day (or chocolate, if that’s your comfort of choice).

We can’t ignore the bad. But we can refuse to let it narrow our field of vision

Let’s look at how we can be resilient together, because resilience is best practiced in community. At KVUUC, we already do some of these, and we could do even more:

Community Practice

• Potlucks (every month with a 5th Sunday)
• Music and singing (we have the voices; we just need a musical leader)
• Shared laughter
• The comfort of being with people who are trying
• Volunteer projects (contact me, editor@kvuuc.net, if you’re interested)

Civic Practices

Resilience also means continuing our collective efforts:

• Supporting local businesses
• Showing up for neighbors
• Redirecting spending
• Participating in boycotts
• Peaceful protest and public witness

Resilience isn’t optimism. It’s remembering that the world is still capable of surprising us, and that we are still capable of surprising the world.