I am extremely fatigued with the constant negativity

This is a call that comes from inside the house.

The world's the world. There's always ugliness, corruption, darkness, deception. There's always beauty, nobility, light, truth.

Watcha lookin' at?

Pick a point of passion, prepare a plan, purge problems, and pursue progress. Proliferate possibilities and promote prosperity.

I wonder if that's a survival mechanism - to dwell on negative events more because they're more dangerous. My parents, raised during the Great Depression, were always thinking the next one could be right around the corner.

This is why I hike

Yeah, it's tough. We're kind of raised with the expectation there's good people and bad people, right? Some are savvy enough to know that's bullshit really early on; others don't care if it's literally true and can just live in the fantasy. The rest of us have to deal with it if and when we figure it out.

It seems like there should be a way to live a good life in a world full of morally neutral people. I can't really say I've figured it out.

Is mindfulness what you're getting at?

I encounter negativity when discussing politics online. Somehow quite a few people get insulting and expect me to change my view after. It’s irritating and hinders my will to be open minded when discussions are tinted with insults.

In some cases, it has to be people that just get off on conflict. Trolls, but like a kind that pretends to be a normal community participant. In other cases it's more like they've forgotten there's someone real on the other side.

When you have a good conversation with someone you don't agree with at all, that shit is fascinating, though.

When I was a teen, I wanted to be the hero who saves the world. That's impossible. I still felt the desire but age has tempered it. I still wish I could make everything better, but it's more of a dream than a constant urge. So, I've decided to repeat to myself: I can't save the world, but I can make my corner a little nicer.

Once I started framing my life like that, it's a bit easier to do small things to improve my life. I can pick up that piece of litter. I can return that shopping cart.

I can't stop corrupt politicians from being corrupt and ruining the planet and killing other people half a world away. I can only save my friends and family. So I focus on them.

Additionally, I filter out the news that makes me sad (tons still gets thru).

Nature is extremely unhurried which is so radically opposite of almost every aspect of modern life that it's like finally get a breath of air to be able to immerse yourself in a setting that isn't manically trying to get your attention.

Everybody gets the fuckits from time to time.

I'm in the acceptance stage of grief; the world is a shithole. Some people will tell you about all the good in the world, but that is just being dismissive of the bad. Good does not simply cancel out the bad, especially when the recipients of the good and bad are different.

Instead, I try to focus on the things that I actually can change. If you have the means, volunteer or donate to a cause that is important to you.

Focus on the micro rather than the macro, otherwise it gets overwhelming.

Dickbutt? Loss? Come on, there must be something hiding in there...

I cannot explain particle physics to a particle.

The real horror starts when you notice the cross above the painting. Specifically, someone anointed it with oil, and it won't go away from the walls anymmore.

Or take your money just for existing

Know the four noble truths and follow the eightfold path.