With studies confirming that negative headlines can undercut our mental health, it is perhaps important for us to turn away from all the attempts to deconstruct what went wrong for us Democrats and remind ourselves to look up and move forward.  As the holiday season begins, we need to find some semblance of hope, whatever may lie ahead. Wandering the Hubbard Woods neighborhood in Winnetka always awakens in me a “Home Alone”-like nostalgia for childhood Christmases. It’s a place where I can move past the hubbub of daily complications and remember a time that seemed more magical. Does this amount to burying one’s head in the sand? I would suggest instead that it allows me to reawaken positivity about the work ahead, as well as provide an antidote to fears about the future. Much as exercise releases endorphins that improve our mood, finding our happy place can provide us with the firm ground onto which we can once again build. For some, a move to Canada or another country is something they’re seriously considering. Yet escaping isn’t the answer. We are in desperate need of alternative voices in our national conversation. During a recent summit of European leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron said the world consists of carnivores and herbivores. He suggested that it was important for Europe to become a place of omnivores, those who eat both plants and meat, to ensure it doesn’t become a place inhabited entirely by plant eaters, which the meat eaters could come and devour whenever it might suit. These thoughts translate well to different sides in America. I am heartened by the parting words of the fool in “King Lear”: He notes not only the great confusion that abounds but also reminds us that a time will come when order is restored. As he questions “who lives to see it,” we need to consider the frame we use when looking at events. If we look at things in the here and now, they certainly seem more traumatic than if we were to look at them within the fullness of time; four years is certainly a mere speck in the history of the world. Of course, our next president has the power to chart us on a very different course, but his successor could re-right the ship. For some issues, including cutting carbon emissions by 2050, time is a critical factor, yet we should consider what we could do as individuals when we don’t feel the government aligns with our interests. In her concession speech, Vice President Kamala Harris quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.” Turning toward hope, Harris and King encourage a vision of optimism and one that requires us to pull together. King’s perspective is much like Lear’s fool: He could see a promised land despite the gloom that enveloped the nation during his time. It is only by adjusting our horizons that we can see a different path ahead. As we seek to move forward, we must avoid any tendency to become trapped in an endless loop of recriminations. While we Democrats certainly need to take stock of what went wrong, we must embrace Harris’ appeal not to “throw up our hands” but to “roll up our sleeves.” Related Articles Commentary | Laura Washington: Here’s a post-election to-do list for Democrats Commentary | Clarence Page: Will Democrats learn from a humiliating loss? Commentary | Steve Chapman: For Donald Trump, victory is not vindication  When President George H.W. Bush left office in 1993, he certainly didn’t agree with his successor’s policies, yet he left President Bill Clinton a note saying, “Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.” We have the potential to draw together these disunited states and reorient ourselves away from our differences and toward what we have in common. Wherever our happy place may be, finding it can help focus the mind, cope with how we are feeling and reduce levels of anxiety. And as important as it is to find it, it is also crucial for us not to spend the next four years in retreat. Americans must “not repeat our past mistake of turning away from public life out of exhaustion,” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt write in their book “Tyranny of the Minority.”   While we might feel weary toward our country, our country needs us to be present now more than ever and engage with the road ahead. James Coltella is a freelance writer and strategic communications professional. He recently graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government with a master’s in public administration. He grew up in the United Kingdom and Italy. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].