Do you ever get the feeling that it’s all going down the drain? That indignity piled on absurdity piled on ignominy will soon culminate in the End of Things? That there is simply no hope for humanity? No point in keeping on?
I sometimes feel that way, too. When I do, it’s a sure sign I need to turn away from TV, from social media, from all that clutter.
I spend time with my grandchildren, who are real people. I take my dog, a living quadruped, for a walk. I feel the air and smell the earth.
For, Gentle Reader, there are two kinds of things in this world: Real things, and things you witness on screens.
Real things include soil, water, air, fire.
Rabbits, automobiles, baseballs, muffins.
Fir trees, steel beams, clam chowder, toothache.
Real things are not all wonderful. But they are actual. They are authentic.
Screen things—media things—are stories, rumors, innuendoes, screeds. They are programs, livestreams, commercial announcements, candidate debates. They are strategies. They are memes. They are panics. They are the news of the day.
They may have some reality behind them, but not much of it. And what there is is curated, coiffed, filtered, teased, slanted. It is not the kind of reality that is in touch with your reality. It comes from a fabricated place. It comes via media.
If you’re losing hope, Dear Friend, I have one word for you.
Disintermediate.
Go out in the real world, one on one. Just you and your experience; no third-party reporters, critics, summarists, AI bots, or commentators. Get rained on, get snowed on, get snowed in. Touch something made by God, not by an influencer. Steep yourself in actuality.
It will restore your confidence: not necessarily confidence in the future, but confidence at least in the solid present.
“But, O New Favorite Writer,” you say, “even that may be a mirage, in the long run.”
The long run? I’m only here for the short run, and it’s getting shorter by the day.
Stop. Smell the roses.
This message brought to you by the Maker of Reality, through the medium of Your New Favorite Writer.
Blessings,
Larry F. Sommers
Your New Favorite Writer
Thanks for the reminder and the laugh, Larry. I appreciate you.
Thanks, Barb. Go placidly.
So much truth to this — the bad news is at the overwhelm level — and that’s real news reported from real sources — so unfortunately, I wish that many of these horrific images/stories were coming from AI bots, but they’re not. We need to take care of our mental health first, but actually the world is rather on fire lately. And there are things we can do–albeit these actions feel slight as compared to the scale of what we’re up against.
Thanks for chiming in, Valerie!
Excellent wordsmithing, Larry. Thanks for the enlightenment, and the advice to “get out there”. I will!
Thanks, Pete!
Well said.
Thank you, John.