Downward Spiral

All the news is bad.

A morally bankrupt, feckless, vindictive, delusional fascist has six more months in the White House (at least!) before we have our only remaining legally santioned way of getting rid of him: election and inauguration of a new president. And the Idiot is getting more desperate, more crazy, by the day, deploying shady, unidentified heavily armed federal storm troopers to Portland and other major cities, against the will of their mayors and state governors, to "dominate" protesters by teargas, flash grenades, "nonlethal" rubber bullets, and nightsticks--thus provoking further confrontation and outrage. Murderous violence is sure to follow...a horrific civil war of attrition as the worst, most choleric of both sides take up arms and battle it out in the streets, with no end in sight...

Meanwhile, the Coronavirus pandemic rages exponentially and unstoppably, overwhelming hospitals and sentencing tens of thousands of Americans of all ages to an early, horrible, lonely death, with their loved ones unable to come anywhere near them. And the Idiot in charge is either in total denial about this, smearing and discrediting the experts like Anthony Fauci, or else he moronically blames the rising statistics on "too much testing."

And meanwhile, hurricane season has already arrived in Texas, promising mayhem, and the wildfire season will not be far behind--both exacerbated by accelerating climate disruption from fossil fuels (another, longer-term grim reality denied and exacerbated by the Idiot). Floods, drought, and famine are spreading worldwide, creating a tsunami of desperate refugees, met--as usual--by battening up the hatches in the industrialized world, and by the rise of more virulent fascists, exploiting panic, racism, and aggressive nationalism for their own nefarious purposes.

And the Idiot in Charge is also following the time-honored advice to tyrants: "Busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels"--by accelerating hostile confrontation with China (whose own new fascist leader is only too happy to reciprocate) thus threatening a vast global trade network and risking the outbreak of hostilities, which could easily trigger World War III--an unimaginable global holocaust, sucking the US, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, India, and Pakistan into a nuclear maelstrom that will leave few if any survivors.

Meanwhile, as the rest of the world steadily and cautiously reduces the infections and moves beyond the pandemic, the US wallows in panic and desperation as the cases continue to rise exponentially, with no end in sight. We are now a pariah nation, banned from traveling to the rest of the world, left to stew in our own follies and hatreds. And if the election does not go well (or is called off for some convenient "national emergency" that The Idiot dreams up in his fevered fantasies of domination), we will become a failed state--due to incremental disintegration of our economy, our political institutions, our educational institutions, our communities, into a maelstrom of hunger, homelessness, desperation, crime, hatreds, local militias, and internecine violence, as local warlords displace elected officials...Indeed, as an article I read this morning laconically observes, 2020, with all its current horrors, may soon come to be looked back upon with nostalgia as "the good old days."

How do we cope with this accelerating horror all around us?

Breathe. Observe. Let Go.  The present is all there is; the past is gone, and the future hasn't happened yet...

Both past and future are simply mental formations--intellectual constructs we have devised, either to shape and give meaning to our individual or collective memories, or to our hopes and--especially now--our fears. Only the present moment actually exists.  Take refuge there.

Be Well. Do Good Work. Keep in Touch. While letting go of attachment to outcomes, do something today that increases your personal health, competence, and resilience. Tend to your garden, and make plans for the coming season.  The more food we grow ourselves, the less dependent we will be on a supply chain that is already strained, and soon may break down.  Take care of others--your spouse, your children and grandchildren, your friends, and--to the extent you can--those in your community who are more needy and desperate than you.

Learn. Teach. Heal. Create.  Make these your standing goals in life.  To learn new skills, new ideas (especially Permaculture and systems thinking) and new ways of doing things--whatever those around you are in a good position to teach you, take time to learn it. If nobody is around, try instructional videoclips on YouTube, or books.  Make learning something useful, interesting, or inspiring part of every day's agenda.  Teach what you know to others, whenever the occasion arises. Be a healing presence, avoiding toxic contention (about politics in particular) by being prepared, at any time you encounter someone whose political views are anathema to your own, to "agree to disagree" and move on to other topics. And be there as well, of course, for others in distress--whether family, friends, or strangers, offering empathy and assistance in whatever ways you can.

Finally, exercise your creativity whenever possible, whether to solve a problem in a garden, make good use of something you would otherwise throw away, or simply write a story, draw a picture, or play (or compose) a song. Or draw up a plan or create an organization to achieve goals that exceed your personal power.

So this is my gift to the world, a gift I hope will outlive me: a simple mantra for choosing love over fear, whenever the choice arises:

1. Reclaiming the Moment: Breathe, Observe, Let Go.
2. Reclaiming the Day: Be well, Do Good Work, Keep in Touch.
3. Sustaining (your own and others') Life:  Learn, Teach, Heal, Create.