I recently started following an Instagram site called “Letters of Note.” The site creator shares historical letters that are both amusing and inspiring as well as grounding.

Recently, he posted a portion of a letter from John Ruskin, an English author and critic, written on Nov. 4, 1860, during a period of social reform and upheaval in England. In his letter to C.E. Norton, Ruskin wrote, “When I begin to think at all, I get into such states of disgust and fury at the way the mob is going on that I choke; and have to go to the British Museum and look at Penguins till I get cool. I find Penguins at present the only comfort in life. One feels everything in the world so sympathetically ridiculous, one can’t be angry when one looks at a Penguin.”

Now, it is pretty obvious for anyone who knows me why this passage grabbed me — I mean, it is true! You can’t be angry looking at a penguin! At least not if you have a heart. It resonated, too, in the power of looking at cute animals to cope, which apparently has been a thing since at least 1860, and more likely ever since humans and animals coexisted.

I intuitively knew this, of course. For the past several months, I have been sending cute animal videos to a couple of friends who have been experiencing challenges to help them start the day with a smile.

But more than affirming my strong belief that penguins are the best animal, it reminded me of the importance of getting outside of oneself in order to deal with life at times, especially right now.

When we get so wound up inside of ourselves, we end up getting tied up emotionally and become unable to actually be effective in standing up for things we believe in or fulfilling our call as Christians to love our neighbors as ourself and be stewards of creation. And to gird up for the fight for justice, inclusion, and dignity for all.

That is why it is so important in our life to be deliberate and intentional about finding those places that give us joy and celebrating them. One of my spiritual practices is to think of three things for which I am graterfull at the end of the day. It reminds me that no matter how rotten my day was, God is still present. Because of that, I am able to reset my soul and spirit as I lay down my body and burdens at the end of the day, ready for a new day, new hopes and new possibilities.

In the past, I have sometimes engaged in a practice during the month of November of posting something for which I am grateful on my personal Facebook page, to get me into the Spirit of Thanksgiving.

After reading this post of “Letters of Note,” I decided I am going to do that again — not for the month, but for 30 days — to help me find a positive center and celebrate what the Apostle Paul said we should do. “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about (a) these things.” Philippians 4:8.

Paul wrote this in prison waiting to find out how he was going to die, reminding his readers that even in hard times, focusing on the good will sustain us and keep us going.

Right now, as I seek to respond to a country that is not at all what I thought it was, which is able to look the other way and elect a leader who has been civilly convicted of rape, who led an insurrection, who is a convicted felon who seeks to lead by division and revenge and whose closest military leaders describe as a fascist, I need to take a step back in order to move forward. I need to take a beat and spend time building on the sure foundation that will keep me upright, wherever the road ahead leads.

After all, in a world where there are penguins, we will always be able to find joy.