History.

No really looking at all the crazy stuff that happened in the past, you realize these aren’t unprecedented times, at least as far as tragedy goes, but the truly unprecedented part is how much less shitty things are in comparison. Not even with technology but with social progress.

It doesn’t feel like it but when you think that within the lifetime of people alive we had segregated bathrooms and pools and that seems insane now, that’s at least some hope.

I misread that as optometrist… Needless to say I was confused

One day trump will be dead.

I am mortal.

I can do things to nudge towards better. Those little wins and survival is what thrivinging is built on.

I cannot remember a night so dark as to have hindered the coming day. -John Brown

the pendulum swings this way and that way

I believe AI will finally drive a good percentage of people back to true art and human expression.

All of this push for global fascism and tightening of chains across the world is actually an extinction burst that’s happening precisely because the world is waking up. The oligarchs see one last chance to hold onto power before the common people flip the board.

Sometimes it’s just enough to be kind myself and get a genuine smile in reaction.

Being kind to cashiers, giving up my seat to the elderly, holding the door for someone or having a trans person seem relieved and sit next to me on the train because the see the flag on my jacket.

It’s the little things that keep our society together.

I think Gen X and younger are, overall, better at dealing with emotional issues than their parents and grandparents. Granted, there’s definitely still room for improvement.

But it’s no longer considered socially acceptable (much less preferable) to use your kids as a piñata to vent your anger on instead of seeking therapy. It’s also far more common for parents to show physical and verbal affection toward their kids. Something my (boomer) parents virtually never did. Probably because that’s the dynamic they were taught.

I dont have any firm evidence to back this claim up, but conversations with parents that are relatively close to me in age has shown that I’m not the only one who has observed this trend.

The global south is developing and rising, and imperialism is crumbling. The birth of a more equal world will not be clean or even, but it is happening, a world where all nations are soveriegn.

I’m more interested in what the people on the street have to say. They are closer to keeping or abandoning hope than keyboardists could ever be. Whether federated or not. That being said, the elections in eastern Europe and South America turning leftwards gives me hope that the North American elections, soon to come, will turn the same way. The whole world needs a bit of a breather and way less noise.

Every day I learn a little more about the world and that generally fills me with optimism, depending on what I learn. If I learn about history, it helps make sense of the current situation. If I learn about psychology it helps me understand myself and others. If I learn about science it helps with my job and all of the above. If I spend a lot of time in news stories and politics it seems to have the opposite effect and I become pessimistic and negative. I’m limiting my exposure to those things. I stopped using mainstream social media 10+ years ago. I go out in nature, do exercise, sleep, eat vegetables and cook food with my daughter. We make fun of each other and share jokes. If I can do all of those things consistently, I can be optimistic. It’s not always possible and that’s also to be expected.

Trump is old and sick. Putin is old and sick. Xi is at least old. Most troublemakers are way beyond. It’s just a question of waiting them out.

In France, high-schoolers are launching a revolution, new generation rocks!!