Ask Lemmy

Nihilism. And drugs I guess

Constant masturbation, binge watching TV shows and marijuana.

Focus on your bright spots.

Also, keep in mind that all the negativity you see is mostly due to 24hour news cycles and other methods of getting instant updates from around the world. And misery-porn sells better.

Well, I like to remind myself that the only constant in the world is change, and that mostly, we aren't watching the world crumble, we're watching it change.

And I recognize that change is hard and that it's mostly an unpleasant process. But I also know that in aggregate, the change we've seen throughout history has been far more positive than negative by almost every metric. For example, I live every day knowing that an infection is not going to kill me, I couldn't have said that 100 years ago. As a person of color, I enjoy the amount of freedom I have, I certainly wouldn't have had that in the US 250 years ago. If you look back further, I enjoy more luxuries today than an emperor could have 1000 years ago (hell, I can eat strawberries in the winter).

The point I'm making is that in general the world is on a positive trajectory, and has been (for the most part) for all of recorded history. If you consider the context, things aren't really all that bad right now, and history suggests they'll get better.

I accept the fact that like every era before us, the news tends to sensationalize shit. it’s how they make money. As long as you’re outraged, (the left) or terrified (the right), you’re tuned in. And if you’re tuned in- they’re banking.

But… unlike previous eras, we have the internet where people like to spread the sensationalized bullshit polarized views to the four corners of the world.

I like to think that life exists within the grey areas between the polarized black-and-white idealist bullshit. And that while things aren’t great- things are not all that bad.

…. And then I feel much better.

How do I cope??? I don't read the fucking news or political posts. The world is damn good.

Ingenuity: The helicopter drone that flew on Mars for the last 2.5 years when it was expected to fly just a few times. It is the embodiment of human achievement. Of our minds in this great unknown. I get so wrapped up in politics and war and social issues, then if I think of Ingenuity it scales all these issues down and makes me feel like a fool for that last period of time I’ve been lost. Science and engineering to further the incredible human story of understanding is everything and that is how I am able to reset where we are in this and where we can go.

Going solarpunk

Newspaper scene from Roxanne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW5EiGwi_a8

I stopped worrying after the hamas terrorists attack in Israel. Not because I don’t care and think this is horrible and all people should live in peace. But because it is too much information I can handle. All the media is full of wars and crisis but I don’t think there are more or less crisis then 20 years ago for example. The thing is we are so exposed with social media and news websites and stuff. I can’t even surf YouTube without getting actual news about what’s going on. Sometimes I just want to watch dumb or nerdy stuff or read some which is not related to bad things. Some say this is selfish or ignorant - well I still get enough news from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza - I just stopped reading and watching all the stuff I stumble across. I cannot even change much on the situation so it is kinda human to get used to stuff like that. I cannot even Imagine what it was like to live during the Cold War with permanent threat of getting nuked and stuff.

I just accept that life is absurd. Once you accept that morality, your own desires, logic, all of them are like waves through time, coming and going, changing form, never staying still...you recognize how ridiculous it is to desperately cling to any semblence of a ground beneath you. Just let yourself fall into the unknown, and at least the insignificance of your own struggle against the tides of change is acknowledged.

Or you can, y'know, just scream, cry, and rage about it. I think of emotions like a buffet. You gotta try them all at least once, and often in a wide variety of combinations. But hey, you do you.

Unlike most, I don't believe its possible (or even a very good idea) to ignore the news. What I do is limit my news source to two places a day, BBC and The Guardian which I know are not perfect but I believe they can be largely trusted. Other than that, I read the odd link on here but I won't doom scroll.

I also do things that have a tangible effect for people who have it worse than me. Hands on in my immediate locality, and via donation nationally and/or internationally. I have a list of charities that I support and donate to two for 6 months then switch to another two and repeat. Doing this means that most importantly, people are helped in some small way and less importantly it offsets the shitness of life a bit. If I can feel a bit happy that I'm doing something, that's a good thing.

I have a small circle of focus on my own life. It’s working, and my life is getting better.

In my work, I focus on doing the best possible job. If I succeed at my job, then my customers’ lives are better. That’s how I make the world a better place. It gives me a reason to do my best every day.

What I do is design kitchens. I also bridge the gap between the plan and the execution of the plan. There are lots of little details to pay attention to. When I get everything right, people get new kitchens.

With kitchens the way they want them, they eat well. They have peace in their house. They have social space to invite people over. Everything works smoothly, and they have a solid building block to build their own lives on.

If I try to do more, I might fuck it up. This task of making kitchen rebuild projects go well is the perfect balance between my own competence and the needs of the world. It takes everything I’ve got.

Having the match between my mission and my skills, having the mission be just hard enough to take everything I’ve got, is my own personal recipe for not falling into despair at the state of the world. The thing that bothers me the most is if one of my customers has a problem. I worry more about that than I do about Gaza.

I love it when the next post on my feed fits perfectly

Quit reading the news and enjoy hobbies.

Try to limit how much news/social media I consume, especially the really dark stuff. Then I spend a lot of time finding good things that I love watching (cute animals, reno videos ect). It's a lot of self-preservation because a ton of news is super depressing and rage inducing, keeping a balance between not being totally ignorant but not wanting to ruin my mental health is key

Looking at pictures of saiga antelopes

For me, personally: Shit's always been out of control, and even though it may seem like human rights are going backwards, we're better off now than we've ever been. Interacting with my own kids and the college students I work with gives me a lot of hope. We really just need the boomers to stop getting nostalgic for the "good old days" when you were allowed to bully anyone who was different from you.

The kids are progress. Support them! Let them turn the world into what they what it to be, and not what we think they need.

Giant Meteor 2024

Basically recognize that anything beyond a full stomach and a roof over your head tonight is a bonus. Even those two are rare in a state of nature.

Things are far better than they could be.

To be clear I hate religion but wisdom is where you find it.

The world Sidrattha (the Buddha) lived in is more horrible than anyone alive can imagine, except maybe North Koreans. In a culture where you were legally allowed to beat an untouchable they let their shadow pass on you, in a culture where the penalty for a slave caught praying was to have their tongue ripped out. In this world he taught a message of the inherit goodness and inner strength of humanity. His last spoken words were to remind people that no one needed him and they should work on themselves with diligence.

Now if he could see our potential in that hellscape I think we can manage to see it. And no I don't think you or anyone else should become a Buddhist.