it’s a struggle to try and stay positive (read: not fall into a deep pit of despair and general hopelessness) throughout all of this. i work in a public library in a purple state that has thankfully yet to see massive pushback from organizations trying to censor resources in public and school libraries, but that may change at any moment. i don’t know if the federal funding freeze will have any impact on public library funding and what that means for me going forward. more importantly, what that would mean for the people who rely on the library. it’s too easy to get sucked into just… general malaise about our current situation.
it certainly doesn’t help that i’ve been sick with the flu for the past three days either.
i recently read anxious people by fredrik backman for a book club i facilitate at my library and there’s a passage towards the end that i haven’t been able to stop thinking about since i finished the book:
“The truth. There isn't any. All we've managed to find out about the boundaries of the universe is that it hasn't got any, and all we know about God is that we don't know anything. So the only thing a mom who was a priest demanded of her family was simple: that we do our best.
We plant an apple tree today, even if we know the world is going to be destroyed tomorrow.”
Related Recs
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It's easy to watch the bleak horizon, fill your eyes and ears with promises of a grim future, and be fixated on foreboding cultural, social, political likelihoods to the point of being frozen and immobile.
Often—at least this has been the case for me—that fixation on the fear of the future takes me away from possibilities for impact right in front of me. There's need and possibility and hope in my day right now: today I can help one person or do one life-giving deed or affirm kindness in some small way.
One of the 20th century's most impactful warriors against poverty was Mother Teresa. She said: "Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you."
We (you, me, us) are incredibly powerful.
Don't surrender that power by forsaking the now.
Jan 27, 2025
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i’m not gonna go into the state of politics in this country, frankly I enjoy that this site has been a politics free space for the most part. with that being said, resigning to despair and the feeling of powerlessness serves only the status quo. inaction is not the solution, nor is waiting for the government to be what you want it to be. politics over: here’s the rec
be the change you want to see
as much of a cliche as this saying is, i’ve grown to believe in it with my full being as i’ve gotten older. for the things you have control over, for the practical needs that you can meet within your community, for the little things you can do every day to ease someone’s burden or generally be a pleasant interaction in someone’s life: bring to the world what you feel it lacks.
where you live there are likely already communities that are arising to support each other and call for change. seek those out if that’s a motivating notion for you. participate as much as you are able and as little as you please, every bit counts. being a visible and tangible example of how the agency we all have can create something better will motivate others to find their voice. a lot of people feel like you, but even a few in action is better than multitudes in despair.
community is so key, and the world we live in has created a situation where isolation is the default so that individuals are forced to rely on the market or the state to meet their needs. how much better would it be to have neighbors and friends as a support network, mutually exchanging their time and resources to strengthen the communtiy and invest in relationships that benefit the whole. the moment we all realize that we can do for each other what the world tells us we need to do ourselves, the stronger we will be and the more we can come together and enact real change from the bottom up, rather than being divided in pleading for a top down approach.
this may sound revolutionary because we have become so detached from community that we cannot envision the changes in our model of living that would have to be made, but it’s sooo not that deep, and it feels more like investing in the good in others than sacrificing personal comforts. it can look like:
- shopping at a local business vs a corporate chain, get to know the staff, get to know your fellow patrons
- spending time with friends, there doesn't need to be a reason or occasion. make meals together, drive together to go do something, maybe literally just be in each others presence as you do daily life, share each others sacred presence amidst the mundane
- give things you don’t need to a friend who does, exchange clothes, exchange favors, share knowledge and resources, lend a skill or a craft, donate things if you don’t know someone who can use it, exchange things and experiences without the need for monetary incentive
- create things together, make art together, share and exchange media, try things for the joy of experiencing them without the need to be “good” at it,
- grieve together, worry together, talk out negative feelings, commiserate, support, encourage, motivate, share your accomplishments, celebrate together
- get to know your neighbors, why is everyone in isolation while in such proximity?
- get off that damn phone if it makes you feel bad, you wont miss out, the world happens outside of it, unlearn FOMO
- enjoy nature, go on walks, get outside, sweat and run and jump and see the sky
- remind yourself that life is about what happens right now, don’t be concerned with what could be or what was if you are unable to affect it in the present.
- go to a concert at a small venue for an artist you’ve never heard of, bring friends, don’t preclude experience for the perceived necessity of entertainment
- unlearn grindset, but also unlearn bainrot. don’t fester in your down time. rest can be active, activity can be restorative. your time is precious and you will meet your need for purpose and direction by literally choosing to pursue a “meaningless” hobby in even what little time you may have vs scrolling and taking psychic damage.
- learn to enjoy the abundance of freely available joy in this world, we have been tricked to believe that money is the sole provider of a happy life
idk i’m just becoming mindful of what brings me life in this world and so much of it is available to me solely by seeking it out instead of idleness in my free time under the guise of “rest.” so much if it comes from seeing the divine in others and creating bonds and relationships and support networks. so much of it comes from enjoying beauty and art, and moderating and savoring that experience vs endless consumption and media gluttony.
the world through a screen is bleak, the world in front of your eyes can be beautiful, the system is broken but you and everyone you know has some untapped agency. anyway imma get off my soapbox, go catch a firefly or sit around a campfire with the homies. you’ll be glad you did.
Jun 29, 2024
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it‘s a cliche for sure, but in recent years i have become a big believer in every event, good or bad, having some sort of purpose, whether it be a big or little one. i guess this helps me to stay content in the moment because it reminds me that, “hey! i know you might be upset about this thing right now, but it’ll work out. you just have to let it.” i am a big time worrier, and i always want to control situations as much as i can, but i have found that if i just let them play out, they’ll go the way they were meant to. (and if it’s not in a good way, at least it’s a good story).
and, honestly, it helps me just remembering what a miracle it is to be alive at all; to have the blessing of living at the same time as the people i love; to feel the sun shine on my face in that very moment. we are so small in the grand scheme of things, but here we are!!! how wonderful is that!!!
it’s like in ”vienna”: “slow down, you’re doing fine, you can’t be everything you wanna be before your time.”
Sep 24, 2024
Top Recs from @eiza
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libraries are genuinely so cool like can you imagine the government creating public libraries today?????? no! they fucking hate the idea of public goods and services that people can access for FREE
Feb 6, 2025
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bring back bedtime stories!!!!!!
Feb 4, 2025
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those LED headlights EVILLLLL i feel like i’m being forcibly sent into another dimension every time a car with bright ass headlights drives towards me
Feb 8, 2025