“I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.” — Isaiah 62:6
Sometimes we avoid thinking about certain possibilities because it would mean admitting the world is less stable than we hope. The integrity of the upcoming midterm elections might be one of those issues. President Trump has spent years raising doubts about mail voting and is now pushing for more federal control over how mail ballots are distributed, even though courts have questioned if the executive branch has the authority for this. We do not know what will happen in November, but we already have enough reasons to pay attention.
A whistleblower told Congress about a new system designed to screen mail ballots before they are sent to voters this fall. The report says the system was rushed, not tested enough, and set up in a way that if one sampled ballot has a problem, thousands of ballots in the same batch could be rejected and returned to election officials.1
In the 2024 election, about one-third of American voters used mail-in ballots. In some states, mail voting is the main way people cast their votes. Military families, rural voters, Native Americans who live far from polling places, elderly and disabled people, and people from all political parties rely on it. Nothing catastrophic has happened yet, but the red flags are waving in our faces.
A federal judge has blocked the new Postal Service requirements from taking effect, ruling that the executive branch lacks authority to rewrite election rules. The Trump administration is appealing and has now asked the Supreme Court to allow the restrictions to take effect immediately.2 Meanwhile, ballots have already begun going out in North Carolina, with other states soon to follow.3 The system may never operate as currently designed. Courts may stop it. Congress may intervene. Public scrutiny may force another course.
This is precisely when attention matters. People often wait until something goes wrong before realizing that the warning signs were real.
The Buddhist tradition has a word for another way of living: appamāda. It is usually translated as heedfulness, vigilance, or diligence. It means being aware of the results of our actions before those results cannot be changed. The Buddha considered it so important that his final recorded teaching was an instruction to remain heedful.4
There is nothing frantic about heedfulness. A careful person does not panic or shout that everything is lost. Instead, she notices smoke and calmly looks for the fire. She notices the crack in the dam. She listens when the engineer says the bridge isn’t safe. She listens when someone inside an organization risks their job to say that something is wrong.
That is where we are now. The question before us is not whether the November election has already been corrupted. It hasn’t happened. The real question is whether we are noticing the things that could make it harder to have a fair and trusted election.
The Postal Service has historically had a wonderfully boring role in American elections. It delivers the mail. That boringness is a virtue. Mail carriers do not need to know how you vote. The Postal Service does not decide if you can vote. States run elections, and postal workers just deliver the envelopes.
The new system would give the Postal Service a gatekeeping role it has never had before, even while federal courts are still deciding if the executive branch has the power to set these rules. That deserves debate regardless of which party we support.
Democracy relies on thousands of systems most of us hardly notice because they usually work well: county election offices, poll workers, voting machines, envelopes, barcodes, databases, postal trucks, and people sorting mail late at night. There is something special about how ordinary all of this is. Millions of people who do not know each other work together so someone else can vote.
When something puts that process at risk, being careful means we should not wait until Election Day to pay attention. Call your representatives. Pay attention to the court cases. Learn how voting works in your state.
If you want to vote by mail, ask for your ballot early and send it back as soon as you can. The USPS recommends mailing your completed ballot at least a week before the deadline.5 Help someone else make a voting plan. Volunteer as a poll worker. Support organizations protecting voting access. And resist the temptation to become cynical. Cynicism tells us the system is already rigged, so nothing we do will make a difference.
Being careful tells us something very different. Something valuable is at risk. That is why we need to pay attention.
We still have time. That is not a reason to relax. It is a reason to act.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where in your life have you ignored warning signs because acknowledging them would have required you to act?
How do you distinguish spiritual vigilance from anxiety or fear?
What is one concrete action you can take now to strengthen the institutions and relationships upon which your community depends?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For Keeping Watch
Holy Mystery, Keeper of all that is fragile and precious, Keep watch with us. When the first smoke rises, give us eyes willing to see. When a warning is spoken quietly, give us ears willing to hear. When fear tempts us to look away, steady our hearts. Guard us from the sleep of indifference and the fever of panic. Make us awake but not afraid, watchful but not consumed, clear-eyed and rooted in love. Bless those who tend the quiet machinery of our common life, and especially those who see danger and find the courage to speak. When something precious is vulnerable, do not let us wait for its breaking before we remember our love for it. Make us heedful. Make us faithful. Make us brave enough to act while there is still time. Amen.
Spiritual Practice: Protect Something Before It Breaks
Choose one thing in your life that you usually notice only when it stops working. It could be your local library, election office, watershed, neighborhood association, public school, congregation, friendship or even your own body.
Learn something about what keeps it functioning. Who does the invisible work? What pressures is it facing? What does it need in order to remain healthy? Then do one thing that strengthens it.
For this election, that might mean checking your voter registration, learning your state’s voting rules from its official election office, volunteering as a poll worker or helping someone you know make a voting plan. But carry the practice beyond November.
Heedfulness asks us to stop waiting for crisis before we become attentive to what sustains us.
Love something while it is still whole. Protect something before it breaks.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
TODAY!!!! September 8, 2026, 12:30 - 1:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT with NY Times Best-Selling author and journalist, Sarah Wilson!!! Sarah has just published her latest book I Eat The Stars: How to Live Fully and Beautifully in a Collapsing World. Join us for this one hour conversation where we will talk with Sarah about how we face collapse, how we find beauty and who we can become in these challenging times. Scholarships are available. REGISTER HERE.
TODAY!!!! September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
September 14, 7-8:30pm ET ONLINE EVENT - I’m delighted to share that Dr. Margaret Wheatley is releasing a newly updated edition of her beloved book Perseverance: A Companion for the Journey this October. Written for those committed to serving the world with compassion in difficult times, the book offers daily wisdom and practical guidance for navigating grief, anger, exhaustion, and uncertainty while remaining rooted in love, courage, and presence. Meg and I will be in conversation to explore what perseverance looks like in this moment of history and how we can sustain ourselves for the long work ahead. I hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a deeply meaningful conversation. REGISTER HERE.
September 17, 2026, 7-8:45pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman for an online session on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” monthly series. Eidetic Imagery is a powerful tool for pastors, denominational leaders, coaches, and spiritual directors working with others, and for individuals seeking deeper integration and healing in their own lives. Jackie is a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, and has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTER for the first session HERE!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
November 10, 7-8:30pm ET - I’ll be joined by theologian, writer, and professor Dr. Debra Rienstra for a special ONLINE conversation on Refugia Faith. In ecology, refugia are small places where life survives amid disruption, pockets of resilience from which life can eventually regenerate and spread. Debra invites us to consider what this might mean spiritually in an age of climate instability, political turmoil, institutional decline, and profound uncertainty. What if our congregations, communities, relationships, and even our own lives could become refugia, places where courage, compassion, beauty, wisdom, and possibility are protected and cultivated for whatever comes next? I hope you’ll join us for this timely and deeply hopeful conversation. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Become more comfortable talking to others about creation care and more confident acting on solutions. Join Blessed Tomorrow + Faith Training on 9/26. Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fBrgjj76QemIfWeSP2bJRQ
My dear friend, Rev. Shawna Bowman has just launched a new podcast with musician Jennifer Knapp called “My Wise Friend Podcast.” They talk about it this way: “You might know Jennifer from her years as a touring musician and songwriter, weaving stories and songs together across the country. You might know Shawna from their work as an artist, speaker, and community leader exploring the intersection of spirituality, justice, and creativity. While our daily work looks different, we share a deep love for real talk, deep questions, and finding wisdom in unexpected places.” I am so excited about this! I hope you will check it out and support them. https://www.patreon.com/cw/mywisefriendpodcast
I’m delighted to celebrate the upcoming release of Wisdom Church: Abundant Life for Aging Congregations by my colleague, Rev. Dr. Anna Hall. Rather than seeing aging congregations as communities in decline, Anna invites us to recognize them as communities rich with wisdom, purpose, and possibility. Her book offers a hopeful vision for moving beyond anxiety about the future and embracing the unique gifts of older adults as beloved children of God. If your congregation is navigating these questions, this is a resource well worth reading. You can preorder the Kindle edition now, with delivery on August 17: https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Church-Abundant-Aging-Congregations-ebook/dp/B0HBXGYTWC
Starting again on September 7 for every Monday, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Associated Press, “Postal Service work to comply with Trump’s executive order is rushed and sloppy, a whistleblower contends,” Sept. 1, 2026. https://apnews.com/article/midterm-elections-postal-service-mail-voting-7f7cf4fdf2e9cf369ae96f96fbda03f2?
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-renews-supreme-court-bid-limit-mail-in-voting-2026-09-06/
https://apnews.com/article/mail-voting-ballots-trump-north-carolina-36353407257c253179dec1eaa1254f61
https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.015.than.html
https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2026/pb22694/html/cover_005.htm
This is such an. important piece, Cameron. At 88 I depend on being able to vote by mail.
Americans had best get off their collective butts because if Republicans take the midterms, America is dead!!! You have elected Trump and his Reich twice and sat on the sidelines and done nothing. Do nothing on November 3rd and as a nation, you will be finished…