This blog tends to cover grim events related to the fall of empire and the rise of a new hegemon: war, genocide, politics (sigh), climate change, poverty, starvation and so on.
Fun stuff!
The people who read this are, I hope, the realists: people who want to know how things will turn out, who want to understand how the world works; people who don’t want to live in illusions or false hope.
But in staring into the darkness there is always the danger of falling into, to becoming depressed and fearful and feeling powerless.
There’s no need for this: the world has always sucked. Oh, some times and places were better, but no matter what time you look at horrible things were always happening somewhere to some people. Empathy and compassion and realism are good, but it’s not a victory or admirable to lose ones ability to enjoy all the good that life offers.
Life’s a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death
-Auntie Mame
The world is full of love, happiness, joy and beauty. In the middle of disaster, love can bloom. There are sunsets and sunrises, the play of clouds in the sky, flowers and leaves of fall, beautiful women and handsome men. There is great art to see, great music to listen to, thrilling or insightful books to read.
We live, still, in a cornocupia. There are vast varieties of food to delight your tongue. There are films and tv shows–some are crap, but many aren’t. There are museums full of artifacts.
And while life grows more constricted, in most countries, there are still helpers: doctors and nurses and others whose are available when something goes wrong.
Most of us have warm beds and cold drinks and few of us are going hungry.
Oh, much of it is gated behind money, but plenty isn’t. The world is full of plenty and beauty and love: to look only at the darkness and not the light is the height of foolishness.
Nor is there any virtue in suffering, despite what Christianity’s attempts to convince us otherwise. If life is bad for others, certainly you should have sympathy, empathy and help if you can, but you don’t have to be in a constant state of misery. The good is as real as the evil; pleasure exists alongside suffering.
The Buddha is reputed to have said that if your compassion doesn’t extend to yourself, it is incomplete. What you, I hope, want for most other people, is that they be happy: that should extend to yourself.
So allow yourself to sup from the feast of joy life offers. If you have money, by all means partake of what it offers, if you don’t remember that love and sunsets and flowers and petting a cat are all still free or cheap, and most of us, even those who are poor, can afford some lovely food and drink and can watch some great shows, listen to music, read books or play games.
Don’t let the world make your miserable. Don’t let your awareness, compassion, empathy and intelligence be your enemy. Sup from the cup of happiness whenever and wherever you can. It’s happiness and joy we’re actually fighting for: that’s what we want for others, and its what we should want for ourselves.
For me, it’s books and game and art and sometimes food. Fried noodles, a medium rare steak, a cup of cold fresh orange juice. Or watching the clouds take form after form as they scud across the sky, and listening to the drum of raindrops and the howling winds.
So much in life is good, even as so much is bad.
What is it, for you, that always brings joy? What do you reach for when you need a dose of happiness? Share in the comments, and more importantly, take some time, hopefully today, to indulge.