TygrBright, Where You Been?

(Although, honestly, maybe no one has noticed I haven't been on DU for a while - we've all had a lot to deal with.)

Well, I'll tell you.

By midnight on November 6th it all crashed in on me.

You know. I'm not going to go into it. That's part of how I cope.

Where you put your attention is VERY important to your mental and spiritual well-being.

All the "overload" alarms were going off, all gauges were in the red (quite literally...). And I just knew that if I paid attention to anything, anything at all, connected with "news" or "the larger world" or (worst of all) "what's coming", the whole teetering structure of my sanity would fly apart.

That was part of it. The main part, to be honest.

There was another part, too.

That was the awareness that 'attention' is their oxygen. Not just in a direct and literal sense (they don't give a shit if I'm paying attention, after all) but in a metaphysical and cumulative sense.

So I closed several browser tabs, and asked all those who love me to please refrain from discussing any kind of current events at all with me.

Why? I can tell you that, too.

One of my friends forgot this. Or maybe she thought she was being 'encouraging' or bringing me 'good news' or 'hope' or something... but her email about how her psychic had earnestly promised that by January 20th 2025 All Would Be Revealed and [Redacted] would never take office quite literally made me vomit.

Not a lot, but still.

Stuff I didn't need. Monday morning quarterbacking. Blamechucking. Arguments about what to do now and why and how and who should do it and ad infinitum. Nope. Couldn't deal.

So with the browser tabs closed, the blackout in place, I began doing other things. Music practice. A little creative writing. Some studies of spiritual disciplines.

And quite a lot of reading history. It's where I always flee for comfort. The awareness that It Has Been Worse and humankind survived and evolved anyway is helpful. So is the Big Picture focus.

Eras that seemed particularly resonant - Gilded Age history. Wow. Yes, indeed. Xenophobia, the madness of crowds, populist pandering by get-rich-quick pols and preachers and quacks, economic shifts of vast scope and chaotic effect... yes, even tariffs. Media in the 20th Century, especially the McCarthy years. Oh, yes, and the Nixon era. Sure, I lived through it, but even I didn't know all the stuff that was going on back then. Crazy paranoid Chief Executives with enemies lists? Check, nothing new... Wanna be Oligarchs buying pols? Oh, yeah, baby. Nothing new under the sun.

The perspective helped.

So did the passage of time.

I may not post much.

I'll still be avoiding the shoulda-woulda-coulda discussions and the someone-should-do-THIS arguments and the Sky Is Falling, Nuclear Winter is Upon Us Unless You Sign This Online Petition threads, sorry.

But we do need to be here for one another.

Reality has some pretty ugly aspects, but it's also full of odd beauty in unexpected places. Courage, sacrifice, and hope.

And I will BE NOT AFRAID.

For fear is the road that leads to all evil.

They are so scary BECAUSE THEY ARE SO SCARED.

I don’t know how to reach them.

Loving them is a challenge too great.

But I’m trying not to be afraid of them.

I do pity them.

How scary the insides of their heads must be, and no way to escape it, 24/7, except the occasional jolt of vengeful triumph.

Which, in the end, only increases their fear.

So I will try to be here, with love and encouragement and comfort, as much as I can.

This community is dear to me.

You are dear to me (you know who you are. Yes, you.)

lovingly,
Bright