Happy Face 15

I was chatting with a Skype buddy in Mexico last night and, inevitably, the subject of the dreadful state of the world we are living in came up. He told me that his way of coping, for going to sleep at night, is simply a matter of lying to himself, telling himself that everything's alright, everything's going to be alright, and all is will in the universe. I agree with him, and I do the same myself. But I also wonder if this really is lying? Hear me out, Gentle Reader. Yes, we are living in nations that are governed by fools, and even if many of them are democratically-elected fools, they remain fools, nonetheless, because they are being voted into power by fools like ourselves, and their power is being sustained by the very fools that elect them. There are some very nasty douchebags in positions of leadership right now: whats-his-face in China, Putin in Russia, Bolsanero in Brazil, Maduro in Venezuela, the Dump in the US, Duterte the Dirty in the Philippines, to name but a few. We at least have in dear little Canada a fairly decent prime minister with Junior at the helm, though he can be a bit of a hot-head who still wants everyone to like him, hence the way he is dragging his telegenic butt on climate change in order to placate the Neanderthals in Alberta who want their oil pipeline, come hell, highwater or devastating climate change. I just heard on the news today that 93 percent of Albertans surveyed want the pipeline. More than fifty percent of other Canadians also think that a lack of oil pipeline amounts to a nationl crisis. Scary stuff, and those idiots also vote! I sometimes think that I listen too much to the news and pay too little attention to the world around me as I see and experience it. Yes, there are things that are worrying. People seem really disconnected from each other, and very caught up in their own little lives and confirming their citizenship in Narcissist Nation. But I also see people who are friendly and who really want to do the right thing, despite the many limitations that hobble us and render practically meaningless our small but noble efforts. Walking in the residential neighbourhoods of my city, everything is calm and quiet, and early spring flowers are already beginning to appear in gardens. The air is cool and sweet. Birds are already singing. But we also have hoeless begggars on our sidewalks and live in a city tht has become unaffordable to many, unless they are wealthy or, like me, have the good fortune of subsidized housing. A lot of people want to, and try to help, but there is still a lack of political will to properly channel our efforts and care. I explained last night to my Mexican friend about the myth of Prometheus, the Greek Titan god who gave humankind fire stolen from Olympus, and how the gods responded by chaining him to a cliff face forever while a giant eagle fed on his liver. We were not ready for fire, for this made us powerful and in our own eyes we became gods. Fire eventually has become nuclear weapons and our technological prowess, while still in its infancy, grows by leaps and bounds. We are still, as my friend and I agree, like cavemen or badly behaved children playing with matches. We do not have the maturity to be the kind of adults that alone can be trusted with our gifts. If we are to meet and survive the current and coming challenges, then we are going to have to evolve further, change, and in a way, turn into saints. The way we are now isn't enough for the cirisis we have brought on ourselves and our planet. It is time to start putting forwardour better selves. This is more than uttting on a happy face. This is consciously and intentionally becoming better people, and I only wish that enough of us were willing to do this. Unfortunately, most of us remain too lazy, too selfish and greedy, too weak and too already-damaged to rise to the challenge. My way of coping? Living in the moment. Being glad for the beauty around me and for the many good and wonderful people that I already know. Having gratitude and giving thanks to God for all these many gifts. Taking good care of myself and of those around me. Developing my gifts. I am also coping by reducing my carbon footprint, treating others well, and never shutting up about the challenges that are facing us, and I also refuse to accept defeat. The situation may be dire and critical, but we still do not know the future outcome. Now is the time for us to make the future, for our current steps and choices are going to be very critical for determining our future outcome, and this future is verry quickly turning into the present moment, Gentle Reader.