How Truly Crazy Is This World?
It feels like it’s a lot. And it is, but also not so much.
The idea of news media was that they could help us all see and understand the happenings of the world around us. Local news covered your city, maybe your state. National news covered the whole nation; international news the world.
Then we got CNN and the 24-hour news cycle. After that, we got the internet. Before long, you could know anything, anywhere across the globe, more or less instantly. All the news that’s fit to print, as they used to say – but more.
The problem with more is where corporate sponsorship and the incessant drive for ratings expanded news and information to entertainment. That would devolve into the likes of Fox News – propaganda and the “conservative” take on “news” (to the point where, legally, I seem to recall that they must call themselves entertainment).
This brings us to today, where these all-“news” networks compete with social media, and getting views and sponsors and making money. Thus, more than anything, sensational, crazy stories dominate. To the point where it can very easily feel like the world has gone absolutely bat-sick bug-fuck crazy.
There is no denying that the world has gone a bit crazy. Hard to explain a lot of the way things are today and deny that. But when all is said and done, how truly crazy IS this world?
How bad is it?
The short answer – bad, but not as bad as they want you to think it is. What does that mean? It means that while there are certainly disturbing, distressing, troubling things happening in the world out there – it’s not as crazy as they want us to think it is.
Yes, there’s some crazy shit happening out there. Many people are needlessly suffering at the hands of some truly selfish, amoral, unkind, uncompassionate assholes. Lots of us are feeling it and feeling for them because that’s how empathy works. But when all is said and done, most of us are okay.
Imperfect? Hell yes. But largely okay. Like everyone else, you’re being squeezed at the gas pump and grocery store when it comes to essentials for everyday life. But if you’re reading this, you’re probably okay overall.
You have air in your lungs. Eyes to see. Things to think about. You’re probably not being lashed with whips and forced to perform slave labor for someone. It hurts to see the abuses of power going on, and to see people who are struggling. But the whole world hasn’t gone crazy, and you and I are all the proof that this is true.
Look around you. Sure, you might know some people who are buying into the bullshit and acting unkindly because of it. But you yourself are not falling for the crazy. You’re striving to push through it, live your life, and do what you do.
Because you can do that, you can see that as crazy as the world is, it’s not the doom and gloom nightmare many would paint it to be.
Just being yourself combats the crazy
A lot of what’s going on out there is aimed at disempowering people. Certain unscrupulous, greedy, selfish assholes and their sycophants want you to be submissive, afraid, and pliable. They want you to change your routine, give up, give in, and roll over so they can enjoy their fleeting power.
Do you think Trump, Putin, or Netanyahu have any joy in their lives? Every time you see them on TV or online, they’re miserable fucks. Angry, hateful, spiteful, and unpleasant. They drive that crazy train without kindness, compassion, or empathy for anyone. It’s sad that they actually have people who follow them and vote for them, but that’s what happens when you convince the disempowered to look outside themselves and blame the chosen target du jour.
I woke up this morning and did my morning routine. I started the coffee, sat on the couch, and read chapters in the books I’m reading. A cat climbed into my lap. Another cat climbed across my shoulder. For a glorious time, the craziness of the world was gone as I sat with two fuzzy, purring beasts lowering my blood pressure and simply being.
Life, when all is said and done, is all about the small moments like this. And most of us have them, even for a fleeting time. And that’s how you combat the crazy. Enjoy those moments. Revel in them. Seek them out. Make time for yourself and your mental health, wellness, and wellbeing. Spend time with the people you care about. Live your life as best you can and let the crazy of the world fall away (even if it’s only for a short time).
It all comes down to your approach, choices, and decisions.
Choosing and deciding
I don’t watch network news at all. I only skim online for the news so I’m not in the dark and unaware of what’s going on. But I choose not to dig too deep or immerse myself in the depths of the crazy.
The thing is, it’s always been there. Shit is always happening all across the globe. The main reason for this is that change is the only constant in the universe. Ergo, things change all the damned time.
Right now, the crazy appears dominant out there because it sells. Our capitalistic world is so hell-bent on making a buck that even information has become sensationalized. Things are quickly blown out of proportion. And the only way to combat this is by being yourself. Be consciously aware and mindful of what you’re thinking, what and how you’re feeling, your intentions, the positivity or negativity of your approach, and your actions.
That empowers you. From there, you can see what you can and can’t do about the craziness of the world. You can also recognize and acknowledge where you can make choices and decisions to make a difference and what you can ignore or give only a bit of attention to.
The more we choose to empower ourselves, the less crazy the world is. Why else do you think so many of those in so-called power emphasize limitations and endlessly blame? Disempowered people look without before looking within.
But you can choose and decide otherwise for yourself.
Yes, the world is crazy. But look closer and see for yourself if it’s quite so doomy and gloomy as some might paint it to be.
Grasping how truly crazy (and not crazy) the world is isn’t hard
It’s all about practicing active conscious awareness (mindfulness) of your thoughts, feelings, intentions, and the positivity or negativity of your approach to direct your actions.
Recognizing and acknowledging that while there are crazy things happening out there, and it’s not nearly as ridiculous as it appears to be, you can make choices and decisions for how you deal with it. Knowing that much of the crazy is blown out of proportion and sensationalized to get views and artificially drive the narrative and disempower people, you can choose and decide where you give your time, energy, and attention, here and now.
This empowers you. When you’re empowered, that can, in turn, empower others around you. That’s why I share these weekly posts with you.
Consciously choosing your approach to life towards positivity or negativity — from the vast cylinder that exists between them — shifts life in ways that open you to more potential, possibility, and the like. From there, you can recognize, explore, and share where you are between the extremes and how that impacts you in the here and now.
The more aware you are of yourself in the present, the better you can choose and decide what, how, and why your life experiences will be. When you empower yourself, it can spread to those around you and empower them, too. That is an amazing conduit to help reason overcome fear in the collective consciousness.
Thanks for joining me on this journey.
This is the six-hundred-sixty-second (662) entry of my Positivity series. I hope that these weekly messages might help spread positive energy for everyone. Feel free to share, reblog, and spread the positivity.
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