I probably need to take a long break from reading the news, and probably also from YouTube, where the most sensational click-baity titles are competing for my attention.
I have to make a concerted effort to keep from being drawn into the vicious cycle of rage, because hate will keep you there for as long as you keep feeding it, and my word, there is A LOT out there to keep it fed.
Like I said in an earlier post, focusing on the positive things we can do for each other, starting on a local level, is how real change (for the better) happens. Federal funding is being slashed and burned all over the place...do you have a neighbor struggling to feed their family? Maybe you have some extra food in your pantry you can give them. Maybe the person in front of you at the grocery store is short a few dollars...offer to pay the difference. Even if you don't have money to give, there are other ways of helping. Maybe you can offer a ride, or carpool if you're heading in the same direction. Offer to watch your neighbor's pets while they're out of town without expecting anything in return. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Participate in your local buy-nothing groups. Start a community library of "stuff" that people can borrow and return, such as vacuums, tools, etc. Little things have an impact, no matter how insignificant they might seem to you.
Help people because it's the right thing to do, not because you expect something in return.
And speaking on the topic of politics...what positive things might we be able to draw from what is currently happening?
Maybe in this country, we'll recognize how easily things can be broken, and maybe work together to build something stronger and more immune to tyrants and special interest groups.
Maybe people will conclude that we can't rely on the government to give the poor what they need, and recognize that WE have agency as individuals to help each other out, if we'd stop making excuses not to.
And maybe higher prices on cheap, mass-produced garbage will give us the wake up call we need to consider if we really need any of it, and maybe as a consequence, we'll be helping the planet out a bit.
This is me trying really hard to stay positive.
I may not be rich, but at least I still have empathy.
