View Full Version : Gettin pretty down about things...
bluesman423
6-9-12, 10:52pm
I become overwhelmed from time to time. It seems as if 99 percent (or more) of the poplulation cares only about themselves. Whether it be the latest electronic gadget, American Idol, alcohol or an increasing appetite for more..more...MORE! Nobody cares about the planet or other people. As long as they get their drug of choice all is well.
No matter what I do to help. it only makes an unnoticeable dent in things and people don't want to hear about how bad things are and how much worse they will become if we don't change.
I am so sad about our political mess, the economy, the condition of our planet, etc. that sometimes I just want to cry. What a legacy we are leaving behind :(
Rant off
Do you have these thoughts and how do you deal with them?
I'm 100% with you, Bluesman423.
People are so into themselves nowadays, and as far as feeling as though whatever good I do, goes to no good, for sure, I feel that way a lot, but I try and curb that sort of way of thinking and instead, concentrate on the positive I get out of it, knowing I'm a better person because of it. :)
Honestly, I ignore people who are into themselves, and that comes easy. Feels good, too. As far as seeing our world in such turmoil, so messed-up financially, so dirty and polluted, it bothers me, too, but a great deal of it is so far out of our hands, there's nothing we can do about it to change it or alter the course, so you just have to redirect your focus to other more positive things, and concentrate your efforts on "feel good things" that make you happy.
It's easy to sometimes develop tunnel-vision, where all we see is negative, but we are gifted with more than that, and it's just a matter of being able to advance in our ventures and ideas, to help open up the unharvested richness that resides all around us, and absorb and take-in whatever we can in order to make our own lives better, more richer, and more complete.
Sending a warm hug your way. P.S. One thing that really helps me, is being here, with all the like-minded folk, people who think and do like me.
Do you have these thoughts and how do you deal with them?
- I try not to worry too much about what other people are doing/thinking/saying/believing, as long as they aren't trying to harm me.
- I purposefully live in a community where folks have a lot of shared values, and communal living/participation is valued over solitary entertainment.
- I try each day to improve at least one thing. Even one thing is a small victory against the dark.
- I think very long term. 12,000 years ago, the spot I live was buried under a mile of ice, it seems to have recovered nicely over time.
Cultivate harmony within yourself, and harmony becomes real;
Cultivate harmony within your family, and harmony becomes fertile;
Cultivate harmony within your community, and harmony becomes abundant;
Cultivate harmony within your culture, and harmony becomes enduring;
Cultivate harmony within the world, and harmony becomes ubiquitous.
Live with a person to understand that person;
Live with a family to understand that family;
Live with a community to understand that community;
Live with a culture to understand that culture;
Live with the world to understand the world.
How can I live with the world?
By accepting.
...
Let your community be small, with only a few people;
Keep tools in abundance, but do not depend upon them;
Appreciate your life and be content with your home;
Sail boats and ride horses, but don't go too far;
Keep weapons and armour, but do not employ them;
Let everyone read and write,
Eat well and make beautiful things.
Live peacefully and delight in your own society;
Dwell within cock-crow of your neighbours,
But maintain your independence from them.
loosechickens
6-10-12, 12:34am
lovely, bae. Lovely.
I, too, try to take the long view.....sometimes it reaches the point where I have to think "civilizations come and civilizations go, planets come and planets go", to get out of the immediacy of what often seems like willful efforts to destroy the only world we have to live on.
In the end, only looking at it in a cosmic sense works.....and in a cosmic sense, it doesn't mean sh*t.
In the everyday sense, all we can do is do our best to live mindfully, in peace with our neighbors, lighting candles where we can and hoping for the best. Because it all starts right where we are, every day.
In the everyday sense, all we can do is do our best to live mindfully, in peace with our neighbors, lighting candles where we can and hoping for the best. Because it all starts right where we are, every day.
On this, LC, we can agree completely, and you are more than welcome to drop by for dinner if you are ever in the neighborhood :-)
loosechickens
6-10-12, 12:46am
thanks, bae......our plan, back during the winter, was to head up toward the Pacific northwest late this summer, so I might have taken you up on your offer, but alas, a medical emergency this winter with my sweetie, and a high deductible health insurance policy ate up $8,000 in expenses not covered, so we are probably going to sit tight this summer on something of a "money diet".....maybe next year!
ApatheticNoMore
6-10-12, 1:37am
I become overwhelmed from time to time. It seems as if 99 percent (or more) of the poplulation cares only about themselves. Whether it be the latest electronic gadget, American Idol, alcohol or an increasing appetite for more..more...MORE! Nobody cares about the planet or other people. As long as they get their drug of choice all is well.
Well if they're just purely shallow it sounds like people who haven't grown up or tried to - because hey maybe everyone is like that at age 18 but some of us, over time .....
But people collectively dealing with environmental issues and so on I think involves a little more than that. It's almost not the kind of problem humans even evolved to understand and solve but here we are .... and conscious.
No matter what I do to help. it only makes an unnoticeable dent in things and people don't want to hear about how bad things are and how much worse they will become if we don't change.
I know plenty of people willing to hear about it. But I am under no illusion they currently form some kind of political majority in the country. The like-minded can be sought out (I mean locally although that may be harder some places than others), I am under no illusion that by itself solves the problem either, but it might be personally helpful.
I am so sad about our political mess, the economy, the condition of our planet, etc. that sometimes I just want to cry. What a legacy we are leaving behind
Maybe you should cry. Things are bad. You are aware, informed, awake to perceive so. People aware of this can get alarmed (climatologists and so on are!). I don't even follow the thoughts of many true doomsters anymore (haven't for quite awhile), however I do sometimes follow the thoughts of those who ride the crest of alarm and have thoughts to contribute. And I can't do that all the time either! It's too much.
Do you have these thoughts and how do you deal with them?
Yes. I let them come and go. Oh that sounds so buddhist and enlightened right? It's not, I mean I get depressed for awhile sometimes. Now there are people writing about dealing with all this (see a book called Active Hope) but I have read none of those books so, that's not really a recommendation.
The universe will survive, the human race maybe not, who knows what horrors some of us may see even within our lifetimes (maybe). The plan to enjoy the rocking chair at 80 may not be realistic (because various crisis/collapses comes before then).
Do you have these thoughts and how do you deal with them?
The Serenity Prayer
.....with an emphasis on 'the courage to change the things I can', for me right now.
And I sing 'Keep on the Sunny Side' to myself aLOT.
I have to stay on the positive side of things for my own psyche, if I venture to the downside too far it's like a rabbit hole for me that's really hard to crawl out of.
Actually singing in general brings me Joy.
Maybe take some time to reintroduce yourself to things that bring you joy ?????
Sometimes I just have to take a break from Current Events and live my life.... all those same things will be there when I am rejuvenated and ready pick up the good fight again
There is so much good going on but the media thrive on yellow journalism and have for eons. It sells, always.
Compare what we have and what the world has in food, education, access to information and knowledge compared to even 1-200 years ago. People around the world have similar hopes as goals for their families and they are getting them.
I am not a pollyanna who sees the world through rose-coloured glasses but the real world and how much it has changed on an individual basis.
I turn off the TV, switch away from gloom and doom programming of all kinds and start counting my blessings.
happystuff
6-10-12, 9:37am
Love all the posts. On a personal level, I try to remind myself that sometimes all I can do is effect my little corner of the world in as positive a way as I can. Coming to this forum reminds me that there are a lot of people do the same thing. So it's not a hard leap for me to believe that - someday - all these good little pockets will connect up, making the world and people more positive over-all.
Hugs and hang in there!
There is a lot of bad in the world. But there's also an awful lot of good.
I finally had to turn off the television, where Bad gets magnified by multinational marketers to the point where I start to think "What's the point?"
I turned off the TV and radio, retooled my own life to focus on my own actions and my own relationship to my community, and rearranged my thinking much as bae describes above. I know I cannot save the world, cannot save the species. Taking off that superman cape was a huge weight off my shoulders. Now I focus on being as happy as I can, helping others to be as happy as they can, and taking small actions every day in the right direction. Getting the focus off "all of them" and back onto "all of us kindred spirits here" was a big relief.
There's a lot of beauty in the world, bluesman. There are probably people all around you doing magnificent things, but you'll never see them on Fox or read about them in the paper. Find your people.
When I get down and disgusted with the state of humanity, I remind myself that it's the massive amounts of cooperation that goes on between people day after day, year after year, that NEVER gets mentioned or celebrated. Everything in my home and my neighborhood involved people cooperating in one form or another, whether through the chain of commerce or the chain of intellectual thought. Even in traffic, as long as there's not an accident, we always cooperate. Maybe not perfectly all the time, and of course there are the ones who are "uncooperative" on the road, but for the most part, total strangers cooperate with each other on a routine and global basis.
+1 to all of puglogic's thoughts, so eloquently expressed.
I concur that listening to the media will drive you nuts. There is just so much negative information flying around, that it can overwhelm and leave one feeling helpless. I think if we all paid more attention to our own little communities we would all fare better so that is what I am trying to do. Sometimes, I like to imagine I am way out in space looking down on this tiny blue marble. It puts my worries into perspective. To feel defeated is not how I want to spend my last years on Earth.
catherine
6-10-12, 10:48am
I love bae's post: pretty much states how I feel.
I remember when my daughter went vegetarian, she thought all she'd have to do was inform people about slaughterhouses, etc, and OF COURSE they would change their way of choosing what they ate. Of course, they didn't, and it was one of her first "real world" aha moments.
I really think that, simply put, "we must be the change we want to see in the world" and not only must we detach from the results of our own actions, we also must detach from the actions of others that we cannot change.
It's kind of like lighting a candle in the dark. I believe in a collective consciousness that grows as individuals make personal choices. So rather than cursing the darkness, find peace in your own light and confidence that it will shine on others.
As far as the planet goes, I comfort myself with the belief that it will outlast the blight that is human infestation. As far as politics and social issues go, I do what I can and figure if it all goes sideways my little band and I can huddle together on one of our properties and farm tilapia or something. Grim picture, but I'll have my art supplies... http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/personal/paint2.gif
I get down on things at times. I know that there are a lot of good people and good things that go on, but I also hate to sugar coat reality. I have always been an outdoor person and have a great deal of affection for the wonders of nature. I think our western culture has made an all out assault on the natural world and indigenous cultures and we are possibly one of the most destructive cultures to exist. It is one of the main reasons I believe in the simple living concept.
As futile as things seem, any change is going to happen one person at a time and I want to be one of those people. I try to be a decent person and do the right thing. I spend many hours of volunteer time helping with the things I believe in. I grow some of my own food. And I hope I can be an example to people around me that you can have a good or even better life without all those electronic gadgets, fancy travel, big homes or what ever other things people accumulate and that take a toll on our environment and extend our obligations to wage slavery. I get a great deal of satisfaction from doing those things.
Beyond that, it gets to be a little like complaining about the weather. There are some things that are just beyond our control and we have the basic choice to be happy or not every day. Being grumpy or down is only going to make things worse.
I'll echo what others have said in that it's okay to take a break from the barrage of negative information.
No harm in lightening your spirits by actively seeking stories on the wonderful things humans do. Here's one about a track meet where a runner helped her fallen competitor: http://espn.go.com/high-school/track-and-xc/story/_/id/8010251/high-school-runner-carries-injured-foe-finish-line
Here's another story about the invention of a soccer ball that can power a lamp: http://unchartedplay.com/products.html
Kick a soccer ball for 30 minutes and the soccer ball with the plug can then power a small lamp for 3 hours.
I love it when people invent this kind of stuff! So for me, another place to get refreshed is to read Popular Science or Popular Mechanics. I swear these people are like angels sent to earth to help make our lives better - so inspiring!
awakenedsoul
6-10-12, 7:03pm
You've received some great replies. I canceled my television, and am much happier and more positive reading. It helps to have goals and to work towards those goals. For me, that's growing my own food, training my rescue dogs who were abused and have fear issues, staying fit and healthy, cooking everything from scratch, mending my clothes, using my bike and the bus, etc...If you focus on changing yourself, and start doing new things that used to be "too hard" for you, you can find excitement and joy. I was thrilled this week to finish some crocheted potholders as gifts, figure out a computer problem that seemed impossible, (and was really very simple,) and to tackle some clutter that I'd been avoiding.
I remember in a previous post I left about stockpiling and preparing for a personal emergency, you left a post stating that my water supply wasn't nearly enough. I had never seen your screen name or photo before, and it was a downer to read your "opinion." Everyone has to make their own choices and do what they can. (with or without your approval.) Not everyone thinks like you do. I don't mean to be harsh, but people will feel your negativity. It may come off as control. I get down sometimes, too. I understand it. It's finding the things you can do to make yourself feel better and that in turn make you more pleasant towards others.
Sounds like you need a looonnngg vacation. If I knew you, I would go too!
:treadmill:
Oh, sorry that was inappropriate. I have found that the only change I can make is in myself and hope that it is good enough to be an example. Crying is good, too, but not too long. Remember we are all in this together.
I noticed that you are kinda new around here, so :welcome:
Sherry
I too have quit watching the news including NPR. One of the reasons I enjoy volunteering at Calaveras Big Trees Park is 99.9% of the people I met and give guidance to are just so excited to be standing among the largest living trees on earth. Everybody appreciates the work we volunteers do. I have waited on as many as 400 people in a 4 hour shift in the visitors center and come home tired but happy. I am happy that so many people have been able to enjoy the outdoors and the beauty of the park.
domestic goddess
6-10-12, 9:47pm
I hear you, bluesman423. I have been in a bit of a negativew spiral myself lately, and it has really thrown me for a loop, because I'm not usually so down for so long. I think that I'm a bit "stuck" right now, and lack the energy to really do a big thing to get on the right track. So I have decided to do several small things, including some of the activities that have brought me joy that I have abandoned lately. I know that things will turn around, and I need to keep that thought in the front of my mind.
The problems of the world are large and complex. Mother Theresa said that we can do no great things, we can only do small things with great love. Do your small things with great love, and give up worrying about what other people are or are not doing. Just keep on with what you're doing, and have faith that it is changing something for someone for the better. You night even be able to see that change for the better eventually, but even if you don't, just know that it is happening.
Everyone here has some excellent ideas, and I urge you to think about them. Cry a little if you must, but don't allow it to go on too long. Get enough reest, and find something to be happy about and grateful for each day. Write it down, if you find you can't remember it, and you will be surprised at how many there are when you re-read them. Spend some time each day being happy and laughing; watching Marx Brother movies worked for my dh. Give yourself over to the joy. It is still there, and it will be there even if you don't take advantage of it, so you might as well be happy, at least once in a while. It can become a habit. Remember that people are more likely to heed the words and actions of someone who is joyful than someone who is a gloom-and-doom prophet.
bluesman423
6-11-12, 1:01am
Wow! Thank you all so much for the advice and words of encouragement. I truly do not know how to respond.
It is so refreshing to be here, finding so many others who are like minded. I do feel alone in my small community, like there are no other people to share my beliefs with.
It has not been that long ago that my eyes were opened about several things. I redefined who I want to be and the metamorphosis is still in progress. Changing is not easy for me and I suppose it bothers me that others do not want to make things better (according to my opinion).
Perhaps this speaks loudly about my nature to want to control things and maybe this is what I need to work on the most. Thanks again for your help. I read AND LISTENED to what each of you said.
I will find and focus on the positive each day. I will "be the change that I want to see in the world".
One day at a time, Bluesman423, one day at a time... :)
Perhaps this speaks loudly about my nature to want to control things and maybe this is what I need to work on the most. Thanks again for your help. I read AND LISTENED to what each of you said.
This made me smile. Good for you. I have recently been thinking a lot about "righteous" or "justified" anger...mostly it seems like that's what people call it when other people don't do the things that they "should."
We have limited control over most things but we generally have some controls over our own behaviours. So that's the only real, concrete place to start. I loved what Catherine said about DD's belief that if people only knew what she had learned about slaughterhouses, then they, too, would change their beliefs and behaviours. Not so! We who so cherish our "right" to be ourselves struggle often with the notion that others (who don't agree with us about something) also have that "right."
Welcome to a thoughtful community, bluesman. I hope you like it here.
I feel this way often. It really concerns me the mindset of most people I run into. Even within my own family (brother, mother etc..). My mother feels that shopping is a pasttime. My brother cries poverty if he can't buy the latest gadget but ignores the fact that he orders lunch in three times a week on average. He is disabled but is capable of prearing simple meals that don't require him to stand long. The 12 year old I occassionally watch has more gadgets (Tablet, laptop, Ipad touch, cell phone etc...) than my husband (Nook color and a basic cell phone).
For so many people it's all about what they can buy and what they can get. I feel sorry for them really. They are searching for meaning and purpose in life through the acquisition of things. Problem is that those things don't bring real satisfaction with life so they are always in search of that item that will and so the cycle continues. We are a society of consumers.
How do I deal with those feelings. I just turn my focus on what I can do instead of what others are doing. I look to my own habits, like riding a bike, reusing and repurposing items, Buying second hand, shopping local small businesses who are dealing with local farmers and craftspeople etc...
awakenedsoul
6-11-12, 5:36pm
That's great bluesman423. The people on this forum are really inspiring, and they really know how to live happily on less! Another thing that came to mind when I was thinking about this thread was "using your talents." It's very grounding, and gets you out of your head. Whatever you loved to do when you were nine is usually a good clue. In tribes people do what they are best at, and contribute in this this way to their community. It's affirming and it helps others. I donated some vegetable plants and seeds to the local elementary school. Growing food is my thing, so I helped them plant and get their garden established. Now I send my parents (who are older,) care packages with homemade dog biscuits, granola, organic vegetables, books they might like, etc...It's something small, but they really appreciate it. Sometimes I send homemade laundry soap, zylotol gum, new toothbrushes, nice socks I found on sale, etc...
Hard physical exercise helps with endorphins, the feel good chemicals. And it's free! I'm a great believer on positive action. It's a mood lifter.
Sherry, I love what you said: "Remember we are all in this together." That should take a load off those of us who feel overwhelmed by the current state of the planet. We are not alone. I also believe that it is largely a matter of being educated about the small things one person can do. Before I got involved in VS, I did not think mindfully about the way I live or what I might be contributing in a negative way. I just went along. Now, I am so much more aware. It is all very complex.
gimmethesimplelife
6-12-12, 1:19am
I feel this way often. It really concerns me the mindset of most people I run into. Even within my own family (brother, mother etc..). My mother feels that shopping is a pasttime. My brother cries poverty if he can't buy the latest gadget but ignores the fact that he orders lunch in three times a week on average. He is disabled but is capable of prearing simple meals that don't require him to stand long. The 12 year old I occassionally watch has more gadgets (Tablet, laptop, Ipad touch, cell phone etc...) than my husband (Nook color and a basic cell phone).
For so many people it's all about what they can buy and what they can get. I feel sorry for them really. They are searching for meaning and purpose in life through the acquisition of things. Problem is that those things don't bring real satisfaction with life so they are always in search of that item that will and so the cycle continues. We are a society of consumers.
How do I deal with those feelings. I just turn my focus on what I can do instead of what others are doing. I look to my own habits, like riding a bike, reusing and repurposing items, Buying second hand, shopping local small businesses who are dealing with local farmers and craftspeople etc...I love what you have posted here. Often I get discouraged and I wonder, what can I do that will make any real difference? This is what I can do - focus on my habits. Shop secondhand, use public transportation, try to grow some of my own food, try to not support large corporations when other realistic options exist.....I can make some small difference if I do these things.....And I forgot - bank with a credit union, find one you like and sing their praises a little to those who will listen. Rob
gimmethesimplelife
6-12-12, 1:23am
I too have quit watching the news including NPR. One of the reasons I enjoy volunteering at Calaveras Big Trees Park is 99.9% of the people I met and give guidance to are just so excited to be standing among the largest living trees on earth. Everybody appreciates the work we volunteers do. I have waited on as many as 400 people in a 4 hour shift in the visitors center and come home tired but happy. I am happy that so many people have been able to enjoy the outdoors and the beauty of the park.I love it when people feel good about working in the national parks! This coming from a veteran server of a few national parks.....
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