President-elect Trump has a critical role to play in setting the tone. But perhaps the road to healing starts with a million individual acts. On the eve of Election 2016, the signs of discord were everywhere.

Clinton supporters frantically warned of an American democracy in peril if Donald Trump won. Trump supporters warned against electing “Crooked Hillary,” shouts of “Lock her up!” ringing out at every rally.

Lawn signs were defaced or stolen. Friends were “unfriended.” Couples in “mixed marriages” had to negotiate truces.

And yet Americans are by nature a hopeful people, and for some, the epic election of 2016 has presented an opportunity for learning and growth.

“It’s given us a lens into how differently friends and neighbors see the nation and the issues we’re facing,” says Parisa Parsa, executive director of Essential Partners, a dialogue group based in Cambridge, Mass. “The opportunity in that is to come together, and ask what that means.”

Not that the Clinton and Trump camps will be ready to link arms and sing Kumbaya anytime soon. Or ever. Republicans and Democrats, too, face divisions within their own parties – especially the Republicans. Coming to national consensus on any big topics may be a bridge too far for some time to come.

But the journey can be meaningful. Hashing out policy differences is what governing is all about. All Americans ask for is civility.

For Brian Williams of Valparaiso, Ind., it was reaching out to a beloved cousin whose Facebook posts clearly put her on the opposite side of the political divide. For Larry Seaquist, a retired Navy captain and a candidate for Washington's state legislature, it meant a conscious decision to run a campaign focused on policy and not personalities. Though he ultimately he didn't win, the tone he set marks a different sort of victory.

And so bit by bit, a new normal will emerge, shaped by forces great and small – the new president, state and local leaders, community groups, individuals.