Asklemmy

Sorry, but this country fully deserves where it ends up.

I shut off all news and social media, stopped checking newspapers, TV, and podcasts, and unsubbed from all politics and news mailing lists and communities. Told family and friends and they're being cool about it.

Dove into 60's detective novels. Anything by Ross Thomas, Donald Westlake, and Lawrence Block. Have stocked up on at least a year's worth of out-of-print epubs. Will reevaluate once they run out. Mixed with a lot of outdoor walks.

It's been glorious.

Stopped reading and watching the news. No point.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/leslie-moonves-donald-trump-may-871464/amp/

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/e-jean-carroll-les-moonves-assault-1203250251/amp/

Family and friends!

• Started listening to more episodes of 'The Rest is History' podcast to remind me that we've been under worse times before, and that everything ends eventually
• Sci-Fi books as a form of escape
• Starting gaming as another form of escapism
• I also plan on exercising more as I've neglected my body over the last year

Psychedelics, weed, alcohol (willing to quit alcohol but it's always a bad week to quit drinking)

Absurdist but intelligent humor. Here in Argentina, watching or listening to old shows by Les Luthiers gives me life.

Bold of you to assume I'm sane

As bad as times are, these times are still better than 99% of human history.

Simple, I don't get knee deep into politics and whatever everyone else is doom scrolling on.

Finding things I can do, and people I can help. Get involved and get organized!

Being involved in a local socialist org, having community, logging out

It helps to realize that all times are troubled times.

The first noble truth of buddhism is: “Life is suffering”.

Not “Life in this decade in this country is suffering”. It’s not a locally-scoped phenomenon.

I started a sub as a distraction.

!dull_mens_club@lemmy.world

Following news from China where pretty much all the positive developments are happening today.

nihilism

Times were troubling since the day you were born, because since the day you were born you were going to die. Life has a 100% death rate. Make your life matter to you, because that's all that matters.

Also, don't read comments on articles. Stay off of social media. Those things are a mind cancer. Negativity bias and fear mongering drive profits by keeping your eyes on it. Find healthy stuff that makes you happy.

You are going to be ok.

Should be asleep ramble but...

Honestly, had a lot of time to think back in chemo. Wasn't even old enough to drink yet. Caught early, pretty high rates for success... But still... Lots of time to think. Sat next to sweet old ladies with much harder fights...

I appreciate the cosmic absurdity of it all. This whole experience of brief life in a tiny blip of this stupid cosmic scale of infinity in all directions, billions of years either side.. Meaning comes from what we make it. It's the best of times, it's the worst of times. Try to enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Find hobbies. Learn a new skill. Get lost in a book, or museum, or at a disco. Get that extra slice. Take that road trip. Learn how to play that instrument. No, it's probably not too late to start skiing, or climbing, or studying French. Grind if you have to. Cool shit often requires luck, but those who put in the hours get lucky more.

I feed my brain new music every day, and try to add laughter to every room I'm in. Make art, be weird, find the helpers.

Much love

This book describes it well, I think, around page 32.

Tribe by Sebastian Junger

Basically, helping others keeps you sane.

Honestly, right now, stardew valley.

Lame and simple, but: It's still a privilege to be here. I am grateful I was born when and where I am.

Maybe it's because I like history, but while I want things to be different, and do what I can to push for them to be, I still get to live in a world that's better than most of the time's I've read about.

I think we have a tendency to visualize our populations' struggles against a lens of what could be better, which is a good thing because that's what leads to progress. The unfortunate downside to this is the mental health aspects that can evolve from not recognizing how far we have come despite the challenges.

Read more history, even just the last 1-200 years. Really dig in to the shit they don't get into in school. What you'll find is that times have always been "troubling" and if anything I think there's a selfishness some people have when they always focus on somehow NOW is the worst time ever and NOW is when things are terrible and everything good will somehow end.

Honestly, whatever you think is "troubling" nowadays probably isn't even new or the first time. But so many people don't understand just how fucked up all of history has been and yet people and countries and cultures survived.

If anything, life today in general for most is far better than in all of human history. Due to advancements in technology and medicine, most people don't have to worry about basic survival things the same way they might have even just 100 years ago.

Honestly, sticking my head in the sand in a way. I deleted all social media from my phone (minus Lemmy) and un-joined any news communities on here. I'm trying to keep my world smaller so I can stay sane and keep those dearest to me taken care of as best as I can.

Honestly, it's worked a treat. I feel a little guilty for not rallying for the cause or keeping up with the world, but it's just too much.

Reading theory helps me contextualize and analyze the world around us, which gives hope for a successful future for Humanity. I even wrote an introductory Marxist reading list to help anyone else who wants to start reading Leftist theory.

In addition to that, I find comfort with my friends and family, reading, cooking, gaming, and otherwise engaging with my hobbies.

Prozac and therapy.

Which honestly, is working. If only I arrived at this method sanely, rather than nearly ending it all and winding up in a hospital.

Bold of you to assume Im sane.

"That's my secret, Cap, ..."

The fact that I see and hear my family's ethos in everything The Right does. That makes me angry beyond comprehension and motivates me to keep going out of sheer spite.

The assholes who raised me didn't manage to break me, not enough to take me out of the game. The assholes who rule us now have their work cut out for them, because I came out stronger.

Love and curiousity. For the latter, my ability to find things interesting has allowed me to look past the immediate and into the past and the far future, the details of the world that add up from countless actions of people or movements of particles, creating such wonderful complexity.

But it would all be for nought had I not someone to share it all with, my friends, my lovely girlfriend, a mind alone and silent is a mind wasted. And I could never waste such a precious gift, I'm grateful to share my intelligence and stupidity alike, for they are my diversity and a symbol of complexity as a human being.

It also helps me understand why things are happening, especially in relation to economics, history and politics. When tragedies occur, I'm able to be more immediately dispassionate as I see the causes and the trends and parallels to history. Yet it has not made me lose my humanity, if anything, I have turned kneejerk emotions into an olympic fire of sorts, never out, always there, always aware. In the words of a forgotten British punk bans "I cultivate the hate to anhiliate the state"

China installed 181 GW of solar power capacity from January to October 2024. It's installing about 200 GW of solar every year. In about 20 years we will have so much renewable energy and renewable storage mechanisms that oil will no longer be a reason for wars. In 100 years from now generative AI might exist and humans will be on Mars. Everything I do that's constructive for the world, that isn't exploitative, keeps these positive developments progressing however slowly so that future generations of humanity will not know our suffering.

The responses are rough, man 😅 Some of y’all are hanging on just out of spite - which is totally valid tho. Hope you all will be able to find beauty in the world again and enjoy life!

For me it’s my family. Had a real fucking shitty day yesterday. Everything went wrong and then some. Then just got a glimpse of a picture of my son playing with his grandparents, laughing, happy. That was it, my day got 1200% better that instant.

An egg?

I try to channel all these lessons I picked up in therapy like "everyone is trying their best" and "we're all just billiard balls"

My wife and dog (a little tiny Chihuahua). Regardless of what happens in the world, they'll be there for me, so I can take comfort in that at least. Married six years this year and adopted the dog four years ago.