“Despair is typical of those who do not understand the causes of evil, see no way out, and are incapable of struggle.”
― Vladimir Lenin
It’s very possible to be both happy and well-informed, and the key is struggle.
Born at just the right time to wage revolutionary struggle against the most evil empire to ever exist on this planet
hmm i wish i could. its so easy to brush aside the good feelings and so easy to be trapped in the despair
Absolutely.
Personally, I found the more, uh, “cosmic” perspective best expressed by Daoism helped - but also displayed in dialectical materialism, systems theory, various branches of science etc, but the Daoist line felt more useful for those who also live in the world. Placing the current moment against the totality of the interplay of forces and systems. Not in the sense of simple detachment, because detachment is the one thing that cannot actually be attained, but in placing yourself and events more accurately within the layers of the whole.
…and of course, fuck all that noise, because the brain isn’t so simple a thing as to be changed like that. Because our mind is one product of a physical organ, with its own rules, habits, adaptations, and maladaptations. It can take time and work to learn the skill of not despairing, or avoiding despair, or allowing happiness… and it can also take altering our environment, meeting humans with differing perspectives to assimilate their feelings through empathy and peer bonding, finding effective medication, reading less, reading more, doing less, or doing more.
I have actually lived what the author said, and basically what you’re saying too, when I was younger… between ages of 10 - 12. I was rock solid. Nothing really ever got to me, and I never dwelt on any feelings, good or bad. I was absolutely unafraid to try new things, think new things, be a new person on any given day, etc. I completely understand what she means when she says what she says, yet that all ended the day my dad died. That moment shook me so hard to my core I never regained my footing again and slid into a life of simmering rage, hatred, and drug use that I’ve never come back from. That is what bothers me most when I read these types of things because I KNOW what is meant, I remember what that was like, I just can’t seem to BE that anymore.
Please share more on this Daoist line. I could use more bloomer training. It’s too easy to spiral into misanthropy from seeing other humans.
There are similarities between Buddhist and Daoist philosophy, I have studied buddhist meditation and philosophy for years and it has helped that sort of thing for me immensely. In particular what is called ‘metta’ meditation, or loving-kindness. You practice cultivating the feeling of love/compassion, it took time to see the results but it has been rewarding. Mostly the reframing of ‘self’ and what it means to be a self, has sort of changed my mind over the years, in addition to some psychedelic experiences. I feel real love for all people, even the chuds and people who would kill me if given the chance, because we are all conditioned by our circumstances and can only do what we have been trained to. Like I’m not mad at a dog for being aggressive, I don’t get mad at people for it. We can fight against the reactionary capitalist forces without feeling the pain of hatred. I still have plenty of negative emotions and anxiety but it’s become much easier to deal with it.
I feel positive for the future because I know that there are millions of other people who share this love and kindness for all people, it’s just a matter of linking up and discovering the strategies to fight back together. I have never in my life seen so many open calls for revolution and growing class consciousness as I have the last couple months.
Despair is a presupposition about the future colliding with an incomplete remembrance of the past. Both are immaterial since we cannot affect them Now and Here. All that came before is immutable, and all that comes after is chaos. Action follows from stillness, and stillness can only be achieved Now and Here.
Practice stillness, spontaneity, naturalness. Practice observation without prejudice, without self. The purpose of a system is what it does, the nature of a thing is what it is. Gravity has no will, it simply is. The You who is you traces a path in spacetime no more privileged than any other.
Cultivate humility and flexibility in the face of changing circumstances. Avoid consuming desire. Be skilled, helpful, nurturing. Learn when to yield, learn when to be still. Avoid striving. Do not attempt to force an outcome, practice cultivating circumstances so things unfold harmoniously. Be irreverent; titles, status, and ambition (and the respect for those) are antagonistic to simplicity.
Celebrate the good of others, treat others with dignity and kindness, do not succumb to vengefulness when harm is done to you.
Ursula LeGuin’s translation of Laozi is quite approachable and has some light commentary. It’s a pretty quick read.
seven seven low texture, is that you?
That’s where I’m at right now.
I too marvel at the wonders of the universe. Like, why is Caitlin Johnston so awesome? How does she always write articles this true and good?
