Well, it hasn't been six months since my last post, but I haven't really been consistent since my whining session, have I?
Things haven't really improved. I'm sure everyone is aware of all the terrible things going on in the world, and I spent a great deal of time rehashing the terrible things going on in my life in the last post, so I won't go over it all again here.
I've been in my head a lot lately. I'm still feeling burnt out, and I haven't really had a ton of energy to do a whole lot other than put in my time at work, then come home, do what chores are absolutely essential, play with the kids, and fall asleep. I've spent a lot of time staring at a phone screen or a TV screen and zoning out, and, after a while, thoughts started accumulating.
This has been by no means a fun or easy process, and I've been trying to put things together coherently for a while now. I finally decided to just start writing and hope that I can figure out the coherence thing as I go along.
I listen to a lot of podcasts. I know I write about them a lot on here. One of the things that bothers me so much is the talk on the news and current event podcasts about how divided everyone is right now. It's all "polarization" this and "there hasn't been such division in the US since the Civil War" and all sorts of other stuff like that. I find it difficult to reconcile because, well, I don't see it in the real world. We're back to the post I made a few years ago about what's real. I've been thinking for a long time that reality and "the news" are completely disconnected.
A few days ago I heard something on a podcast about how we're at a breaking point as a country and we need to find a way to come together and "heal our nation" before we descend into war. But here's the thing: I think we already are. I think we have been for a long time. If we ignore the absurd edges of the political debate (which seem like the only portions of the political debate that get any air time), what I see in the real world are a bunch of people who generally get along pretty well. Better yet, even when people have wildly different political views, I see them coming together in common causes to make their lives and the lives of people around them better.
Last April I wrote about spending more time trying to work on what things I have some amount of control or influence on, and I know I wasn't the only person thinking about that kind of shift in the last year. I've seen numerous podcasts come out about that very idea, and plenty of articles online. It's reached a saturation point, at least when it comes to the people in my life. I don't hear people at work talking about national politics anymore, even though there's a midterm election in a couple of months. I expected a lot more outrage on my Facebook about the supreme court decision on abortion; there was almost none.
What I see and hear instead of all that noise is people talking to and about each other. People are going out again and doing things. People are taking vacations, going to movies, and hanging with their friends and families. I talk to my coworkers about their workloads and how we can help alleviate them when they get overwhelming, then we talk about vacations and kids and what we'll be grilling on the weekend. I see people in my neighborhood out walking and talking about what's going on in each other's lives. I see posts on Facebook about people in need, or lost dogs, or babies. Lots of babies.
Maybe I'm overreaching. Maybe I'm using anecdotal evidence to support a claim. Either way, I think people, by and large, are good and want to be good. Thus, instead of tuning in to the hatred and anger that the daily news puts out, they're tuning out and spending more time on the good they can achieve in their lives. You know what, I hope I'm right.
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