I hope we aren't going to need an "Abandon All Hope" forum, since we're already seeing so much of that here

[highplainsdem]

in General Discussion.

And while I believe in free speech, I've never wanted to encourage hope-abandoning, since IMO it's unhealthy for individuals and political parties alike.

It's also unrealistic. Things change. None of us can foresee the future.

We can cripple ourselves, though, by abandoning hope.

As a polio survivor who got past both that in childhood and a serious back injury in my 30s, I'm very opposed to self-crippling on top of all the problems life can throw at us.

Anger is healthier than abandoning hope...though nonstop anger is toxic and should always be balanced with connecting with people and finding joy and strength where we can.

Connecting to share feelings of hopelessness, OTOH, can be like a weighted net pulling you under until you drown in those feelings, powerless against them.

If you're feeling hopeless, then you can try to switch the channel on your mood, which IS in your power. Go for a walk and enjoy nature or just walk to exercise. Play with a pet. Turn to favorite music or books or films.

And if necessary, turn to others and ask them to help you find hope.

But if your way of dealing with a feeling of hopelessness is to try to make others share it, I hope you'll soon realize you're hurting them as well as yourself.

And in this forum, where we have some people who are already coping with depression and sorrow for various personal reasons, dropping a weighted net of political despair on them is not helpful.

So if that's going to be done, a separate forum for those who want to talk about abandoning hope might be a good idea.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Once reality based discussion is relegated to the back room, we are totally sunk.

[highplainsdem]

4. Who's suggesting relegating reality-based discussion to the back room?

[Irish_Dem]

34. Any one who is not feeling a bit hopeless right now, is not in touch with reality.

We have no data to support a strong sense of hope or optimism.

If you can present me with data, evidence, science, or facts to the contrary I will revise my hypothesis.

I agree that things could change for the better, but it is going to get worse before that happens,
if it ever does.

[slightlv]

65. Your avatar is John Kennedy, Democrat.

Do you think he'd have attended the vote certification and not rose to say his peace about trump's avoidance of the legal ramifications of his actions? I don't. He would have had a full speech prepared and nearly memorized before Jan 6.

Our current crop of democrats just sit there and take it, trying to make nice with an enemy that would stab them in the heart, no longer being satisfied to stab them in the back. Show me some democratic leaders fighting for our democracy and against trump and his maladministration, and I'll stand not only behind them but beside them. Until then, count me in the group that's hopeless. trump and Musk will kill me if he has the opportunity to cut SS, and right now I see no call that he isn't going to do that.

[orangecrush]

7. I for one

Welcome our new felonious vile overlord, and will reach across the aisle to give him a dumpster handie, if he will be gracious enough to accept.


SARACASM

[B.See]

13. @ Irish Dem: EXACTLY

On the contrary, if more Americans (in general) paid attention to realities, we wouldn't be having to deal with another Trump occupancy.

[Irish_Dem]

35. Yes, pretending all is well, and life is good, has not been a constructive strategy.

Our country has been overcome with evil and gone to the very dark side.

[Magoo48]

41. I agree, if more Americans embraced reality and paid attention to how they are governed...

But, pissing and moaning, whining, going full Henley-Penny, and becoming paralyzed by either hope or despair is waste of fucking time and energy.

How can I resist?
Direct action?
Indirect action?
Passively?
How can I be creative about it?
Is there any organizing going on around me?
.
.
.

[wnylib]

75. Agree. We need to do both - face reality and not be overcome with hopelessness.

I have a video about Anne Frank's family. It contains interviews of people who knew them before the Nazis came to power, later in The Netherlands before they went into hiding, and in the concentration camps after they were arrested.

One person interviewed said that Anne's father, Otto Frank, talked about how he stayed away from people in the camps who focused on the hopelessness of the situation. He had observed that they fared the worst because, in their hopelessness, they did not network with others to cope and look after each other.

People who faced reality in the camps were the ones who recognized the reality that hopelessness was self-destructive. So Otto and others who refused to accept hopelessness worked together on things like methods of sneaking in or trading for food, water, and medicine, covering work details for each other if one of them got sick so they could rest, finding ways through work assignments to connect with other groups of prisoners for news of friends and relatives, etc. Those things gave them purpose and encouragement to keep going. Their attitude also helped them work together for creative ways to substitute for necessities that were lacking.

People who gave in to hopelessness did nothing to help themselves or others survive.

[obamanut2012]

30. Link to where OP said that?

[Irish_Dem]

32. Please read the OP.

[obamanut2012]

53. I did, then reread it -- where do they say what you said they said?

Because it isn't there.

on edit: I don't appreciate your PA snarkiness to me, either. "Go read the OP."

[MorbidButterflyTat]

57. There is none

...because the OP didn't say that.

As someone dealing with personal bullshit on a daily basis, I appreciate OP's kindness and consideration for others.

[yellow dahlia]

31. Agree.

I'm a fan of venting and ranting and letting it rip. We sometimes process our own thoughts and feelings, while we do so. And on this forum there is a lot of validation of our thoughts and feelings and simpatico in venting, especially right now. I am grateful for the simpatico on DU.

[Ocelot II]

2. That's what they want - despair and apathy and acceptance

of the unacceptable. I hope we don't go there. It's going to suck but I refuse to give up and just mope around and whine about how much it sucks.

[bdamomma]

38. Are we going to

imitate Russians, who walk around miserable and drinking their liquor of choice (vodka). This is a big challenge and those of us who are aware of current political turmoil, with an imbecile felon. They want us to fear and be hopeless. Do not do this

[Callie1979]

79. Yes! I wont be a part of it. I HAVE to be somewhat optimistic.

Its simply unhealthy & could also lead to depression.

[Basso8vb]

3. I will never stop fighting.

Lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.

[William769]

5. Glad to see I am not the only that feels this way.

[orangecrush]

6. I don't hear anyone

Rallying us, giving us messages of hope and pledging to fight tooth and nail.

Instead, I'm hearing many pledging to "work with him".

Fuck that noise.

[Bettie]

9. See, that's a big problem, at least for me

Few on our side are doing anything but obeying in advance.

None of the people who are at the top of the party are willing to say a single word that is critical of Pres. Musk and VP Trump. They just seem to be sitting in a burning house discussing replacing the drapes at some point.

[Elessar Zappa]

12. You can't depend on anyone else for your happiness.

I learned this long ago when people I trusted hurt me. Happiness comes from within, I believe. Like the OP said, take a walk, listen to some music, the world isn’t all bad. The sun will come up tomorrow. I know it’s sounds cliché but it’s true.

[Bettie]

16. It's not about happiness

it's about my ability to believe that Democrats in office will even try to stop any of the fuckery, because they all seem to be getting on board with it and it is frustrating to watch.

I will at least have my husband and sons and we'll manage together. I'm making arrangements in case the two (plus the girlfriend) need a place to live once the economy goes to hell, we can plant a garden if we must (I detest gardening having spent most of my childhood endlessly weeding), and we're white, so we're not really high on the target list, but in the end, I'd like to see the party I've been a member of for my entire adult life actually fight for the country and it seems that they have chosen to acquiesce to whatever Musk/Trump want to do in the name of 'civility'.

I'm watching my kids' future be destroyed and it pisses me off.

[Elessar Zappa]

20. Of course.

We should all be pissed. All I’m saying is that it’s not worth sacrificing one’s mental health for. I’ve seen people so despondent, they literally can’t function. It can happen and therapy can do a lot or even medication if that doesn’t work. (Not applying this to you, just saying generally).

[Think. Again.]

77. You might want to consider...

...that some people are more vulnerable to the trauma and dispair that our current reality surrounds us in.

[Elessar Zappa]

84. I do agree with that.

Our present situation isn’t good. Just saying we all have to take steps to take care of our mental health before it spirals to the bottom.

[Autumn]

15. What terrifies me is I've heard Dems willing to listen and work with fucking RFK as Health Secretary.

No. Fuck no. I can't even. We are so fucking lost.

[Bettie]

19. Right? What the actual

fuck is with that?

[Autumn]

25. I loved my Gov. Polis . Then he endorsed RFK for HHS and said

he's willing to work with trump.

[Lulu KC]

70. Wait--who?

I missed that!

Other than Governor Polis? (Which I agree is peculiar to the point of shocking.)

[Autumn]

76. I can't remember the names. I was so blown away by any Dem supporting that POS quack for such an important

position and working with trump just pisses me off, that was the icing on the cake.

[MadameButterfly]

22. Some are waiting to criticize actions instead of rhetoric

Trump is threatening more things than he can actually do. They aren't giving him press for stuff that just isn't going to happen. They need to save the for the stuff he really does.

I'm not justifying the appeasers: WaPo, LA Times, ABC. I've seen some pretty bad Dem votes in the House.
But I'm not giving up on the Dem Representatives, Senators, and Governors who are ready to fight.
Did you watch Hakeem Jeffries' speech after the House Speaker vote?

[bdamomma]

39. Posting this for reading

https://archive.org/details/ontyrannytwentyl0000snyd_c0g6

[Autumn]

11. true

[Crunchy Frog]

18. Don't you know that the fight is supposed to be led

by a bunch of senior citizens posting on an obscure discussion board?

I'm in my sixties and have lifelong treatment resistant depression, so I'm planning on becoming a general in the resistance. Lead, follow, or get out of the way!

[Bettie]

21. Yep, your name still makes me smile

every time.

So, you have made my day a little brighter!

[Crunchy Frog]

23. Glad I could help.

[Attilatheblond]

27. One of those weird ax throwing places opened in our town a couple years ago

Thinkin this old woman could use a new exercise program.

[Mike 03]

28. Yes, I have been on the lookout for actionable ideas since

November 6.

I've seen maybe a dozen posts complaining about other peoples' despair, sadness, etc... They almost never have any actual ideas in them. And if you ask them, "Great, how are you fighting autocracy? Please list what you are doing. Which ideas work, and which didn't? What risk assessment did you do?" Crickets. Sometimes someone will post somebody else's list of mental preparation we can do to build resilience, determination and mental toughness. Nothing wrong with that. But none of that is "fighting an autocracy."

The only real ideas I've seen have to do with self-protection, allocating or shifting finances, basic prep. And those things are very important. I've done a lot of this myself too. But it's not fighting autocracy; it is just being realistic and prepared for likely outcomes.

[Easterncedar]

50. Volunteering at rehabbing immigrant housing

Makes me feel better, builds community and helps folks under threat by the mango goon.

[LeftInTX]

69. Many in DC are getting ready for the upcoming sessions

[Elessar Zappa]

10. Totally agree!

Some people are going to have a very bad next few years if they don’t try and take your advice. I keep hope so I don’t fall into crippling depression. I think some of our fellow DUers are suffering from that and may consider talking to a therapist. I’ve been there and it really helps!

[bdamomma]

47. If

anyone is suffering from depression or hopelessness please get help.

Not to be rude, listen to Mary Trump Media, she's a psychologist, and has great insight and suggestions.

[obamanut2012]

14. I feel that way, too, and almost wrote a similar OP last night

I'm a married lesbian, and it is scary enough without some of teh stuff posted here telling us to give up, we are doomed, it's all over, the poster si moving from the US (must be nice to have the money to do so), etc.

Stop and think before you post that stuff.

[usonian]

17. Hope is not guaranteed. Heck, it's not even a strategy, but despair is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Here is one idea:

Since many legislators are working on a survival strategy for the country and themselves and are facing primaries down the line, they are unlikely to be a constant and loud voice for the cause. Think of a Martin Luther King (HIS DAY IS JANUARY 20, this year).

Leaders like The Clintons, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden can do so if they pledge to stay above primary disputes.
Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow can't do it alone.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219825280
There is no fairly permanent "Democratic Policy Institute" like the GOP has with its Hoover Institute (which sucks)

and aside from that, we need to build community.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10113622
The fight begins. Organizations and tools to fight for Democracy.

BUT FIRST, STOP LETTING NETWORK EXECUTIVES CONTROL THE ENTIRE NARRATIVE.

[Andy823]

24. I couldn't agree more

I know many people are felling down, but I also think that a lot of the problem is posters who seem to push "doom and gloom" as their agenda. I don't post as much as I used to simply because I see so much of this happening and I am glad you brought this up.

I agree with you on every thing you said, I think others here do also.

Thank you for posting this.

[CentralMass]

26. I hope that we won't get as f'd as I think we will.

[Macrophylla]

29. Well what's there left to do...

When you gave it your all and furiously posted cat memes all day on a niche political site but your team still lost in spite of all those super cute kitty GIFs

Just an observation

[orangecrush]

46. "your team"?

"Cat memes" on a "niche political site"?

O.K.

[Mike 03]

33. If you are an average Democrat who is an ordinary human being

with no superpowers, you are seeing many of the people who were leading over the last 8 years saying things like, "We're on our own now," or flatly admitting they do not know what to do at this point. It is also disconcerting to see the institutions lining up against pro-democracy forces. In addition to the Executive branch, senate, house, SCOTUS and many smaller courts, it is becoming increasingly clear that legacy media and even corporate forces are going to side with the autocracy--including Silicon Valley.

That's a lot to swallow and a lot to think about. Resisting this won't be anything like resisting a bad president, which Trump was in 2016 and it was fun and entertaining to troll and fight these assholes.

So, I don't see the point of posts beating up on people who feel fearful, despairing or paralyzed. What is there to do today? Should we do as MineralMan suggested and watch and wait until Trump takes office and evaluate what he is attempting to do and how successful it looks like he will be.

Who will be our allies?
Who is volunteering to lead some effort of some kind to resist, and what is the objective and what are the instructions for how to do it?

[ancianita]

81. You can find allies if you Google for them. Here are a couple.

https://thefederalnewswire.com/stories/665892188-litigation-coalition-forming-to-confront-trump-administration-policies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Alliance

https://www.propublica.org/topics/trump-administration

https://breakingnewsusa.com

[Hope22]

36. Feel free to start your own forum ...,

…I won’t tell you what to call it. People have feelings of overwhelming danger. Give yourself a giant pat if you can’t relate and ignore said posts. You are most fortunate to have only one thing that gets on your nerves out here!

[senseandsensibility]

37. I've never criticized a DUer for posting something

as long as it doesn't break DU rules and I don't plan to start now. That includes your thread by the way. But I will state that some of this hopelessness, IMHO, would be allayed if our Dem leadership were leading with strong ideas about how they will fight for us.

[PortTack]

66. Did you not see leader Jefferies speech yesterday after johnson was re-elected? Must not..he was clear and

Very succinct about moving forward.

[mahina]

40. 100%.

Donald never gave up, why should we?

I get the sorrow, but I don’t get the defeatism and I don’t think it’s helpful

[sagetea]

42. I have hope..

about an hour and 10 mins a day.

sage

[Renew Deal]

48. Thank you

Finally, an optimist.

[SWBTATTReg]

43. Appreciate those that are saying don't be such doomsayers and naysayers, and bring the rest of us on DU down

too w/ them.

Too much of that going on and frankly, I've reduced my exposure to DU just for that very reason.

I go to DU to get tons of advice and stories on tons of non-political stuff (it's the predominant feature of DU IMHO, not just politics) and so I enjoy this feature so much, get so much out of it.

But the doom and gloom lately is overwhelming. I thought that we were all supposed to be 'there' for each other, and not bring such despair and such to DU, if anything, bring a ray of sunshine and try to find the good things in life that we all should be thankful for, in short, bring us all up in spirits. It's not all of us but there is enough 'doom and gloom' statements on just about everything negative that could happen.

Some tips IMHO if you're on DU. IGNORE the djt news that's all over DU it seems like. IMHO, I could care the least about what this monstrosity is going to do during his last term in office.

One of the things keeping me going is going that this is his last term. His end of days is fast approaching although now it doesn't feel like it now. And he's getting older by the day, thus, he's going to not be (in my thinking) not as active and/or destructive as before (but he'll still be doing crap, don't get me wrong).

Don't give us that excuse 'but we need to know what's going on!' BS. I've heard this 'advice' numerous times and it's the same ol' BS excuse that I've heard endlessly over the years, and it is not helpful to us all here. IMHO, I'm going to barf if I hear this excuse again.
again. We all know that crap will happen soon but constantly revisiting it doesn't help us.

Instead of negative thoughts, and posting crap about djt and his ilk, what they are doing, post instead, positive thoughts about positive things going on in your neck of the woods (or the city). There are tons of news about goings on a state by state, city by city, neighborhood by neighborhood basis, that I'd prefer to hear about.

Talk about the weather, the tons of snow and ice we've just all gotten. Or, talk about Clubs in your area and give us some news/updates. Perhaps talk about tips on saving money, when you buy certain items (and if you're still spending during the former's guy's upcoming admin.)

I do plan on reining in spending too, and make more home meals, and enjoy the time at home more, and watch the news zero % of the time. Sometimes the news is so slanted that they've turned me away into other areas where I can get the news I want, YouTube is a very good source of local news too (as well as DU). I pretty well watch this nonstop.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

61. Well said

[demmiblue]

44. Or one could just use the tools that the admin. has provided (trash thread/ignore) if certain threads or posters...

bother you.

[Renew Deal]

45. It's really ridiculous how much a few people are trying to force pessimism on everyone else.

The "end of the world" posts were initially relatable. But some of the stuff I've seen in the last couple days runs between comically ignorant and malicious.

[obamanut2012]

54. agree

[jalan48]

49. I don't think we need to abandon hope. We need to abandon propping up the status quo.

It isn’t working.

[Renew Deal]

52. Totally agree

[CaptainTruth]

51. Thanks for saying it. I don't come here for Hopeless Underground.

[H2O Man]

55. Recommended.

Thank you. It could be called the Eeyore Forum.

[msfiddlestix]

56. it's not just here. it's in the air, everywhere.

TSF's isn't even in office yet, but we know how fucked things are going to get, and it may take a while before we feel the effects. But anyone who knows a little history in Eastern Europe, and oh wait don't look now, but Canada too? The fascists have gone global and leaving may not even be an option

[ForgedCrank]

58. There is

a constructive happy median here, but not an on or off switch. That's my personal opinion at least.
On some fronts I do agree. That is, MAGA wants to kill me or wants me dead, MAGA is Hitler, end of our Democracy, etc. That stuff serves no purpose and simply isn't grounded in reality, no matter how much I will get flamed for saying it. The election is over, we can stop with the hyperbole now. No votes are going to change, and Trump will never be running again.
Even though the GOP holds a majority in congress, there are too many detractors for them to get any of their most hard-hitting policy ideas written into law. Don't ever forget just how many people loath Trump. Hell, they just smacked him down when he demanded they get rid of their speaker. It has already started. And this is why the office of the Presidency, as powerful as it may be, is really not much more than a rubber stamper with a 4 year expiration. And even that power has it's limitations in reach. The two party system will do it's work, at least for the most part.
The worst is to expect stupid EO's from Trump, and some mostly benign, right wing legislation to pass that will also fill many of the needs for us on the left as well; it is the only way there will be enough votes to pass anything.
So I guess I'm saying that I'm in agreement. I do think that the "millions will die" and "our country is over" posts should be relegated to a different sub. But that's just me. I'm looking at things a bit more plain honesty in search of valid information, but maybe this isn't even the place where I should be looking for that sort of thing, I don't know. But post after post of calling Trump motherf***er isn't really all that productive or appealing really.
The remaining question would be who shall be the arbitrator of deciding what is and isn't? That's the snag, so it's not really possible to split the forums unfortunately. I think it would end up just being a wildly variable frenzy of post alerts and juries and nothing would get fixed in the end.

[PortTack]

68. Your last paragraph pretty much sums it up. A simple solution that absolutely works, just scroll on by

When you see an all doom and gloom post here, just scroll on past. It’s actually very empowering to look at that kind of post, regardless the OP, and scroll on by!

[AKwannabe]

59. That word you used

Is the only four letter word I don’t use.
So unrealistic!!

Fuck that word. Just sayin

[LoisB]

60. So long as I am breathing, I will never abandon all hope. Never!

[duhneece]

62. "We can cripple ourselves by abandoning hope..."

No truer words have been spoken.
I have felt bitter despair, hopelessness and rage over the past weeks since the election.
But I forced myself to attend to my health (Zumba and classes at our Senior Center) and reached out to others to connect. I’m grateful that my husband likes to cook so I’ve invited people over to eat. Although I had to force myself to invite others over, I’m glad that I did. Somewhere on DU it was suggested that we connect. Our house is small, 1,000 sq feet with a small loft, but we managed. I can’t tell you how much it lifted my spirits.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

63. I appreciate your thoughtfulness of others

I'm re-posting this part, since it seems to me it's been ignored by some:

"And in this forum, where we have some people who are already coping with depression and sorrow for various personal reasons, dropping a weighted net of political despair on them is not helpful."


Thank you.

[Cirsium]

64. Honest appraisal versus denial

I see a greater danger from denial and from underestimating the danger than there is from some "abandon all hope" sentiment, if that is even what anyone is saying.

The national crisis is not merely a matter of individual personal emotional states ad should it be treated as though it were. Yes, we should care for each other, but false hope and denial, while that may make people eel better for a while, is not a solution to the crisis, or even helpful.

There is actually great danger. That is objective reality. People are not served by being told to ignore objective reality.

[kentuck]

67. I hope those that are depressed and down from everything happening...

...do not "abandon all hope". Once hope is gone, the battle is lost.

Without hope, we will have surrendered.

So, even though we may be sick with it all, we cannot give up hope.

[Ilsa]

71. I won't abandon hope. But I can't manage the same

level of exposure to the moronic short-fingered vulgarian psychopath as we had to deal with from 2016 through January 2021.

[Lulu KC]

72. It's a fine line

Where I draw the line is things that make me think, "This is exactly what Putin wants to see." I don't want to make him happy.

[mgardener]

73. I turned 70 in Nov

I refuse to let Trump ruin 4 years of my life.

[Wonder Why]

74. I've abandoned all hope of seeing an "abandon all hope" forum.

[Callie1979]

78. I will keep working to educate & elect GOOD folks. And I'll keep living my life too!!

I'm not going to be "doom & gloom" after Jan 20th. Screw trump. I'll do what I can to get rid of his enablers But I'm still going to go to my concerts, trips & other events I enjoy.

[tornado34jh]

80. For me, hope isn't the issue. I just believe we don't deserve nice things, not if we haven't learned anything.

If people can't realize what government they just voted for, then I don't really know what to tell them. They are worthless as far as I am concerned. It may sound misanthropic, but again, I'm just being real. They had ample information to see what they Trump was, and they still voted for it. What good is it if despite all the evidence, there is no justice? Do you think if I had done all the stuff Trump has done, I would have that much leeway? It really is a justice system for the rich. I want to be optimistic, but what have I seen that makes me think we deserve nice things? But it isn't just the US I am burning on, I'm talking about the world in general. I mean, for the most part, at least in theory, we probably are living the easiest era in all of human history. I guarantee you that hundreds or thousands of years ago, it was not easy. Early civilizations were brutal, where the rich and powerful were the norm, and that your average citizen had little, if any power in their government. I don't think many people really understand that. Vaccines, vehicles, planes, cargo ships, massive houses, and their precious guns. All that didn't exist in these civilizations. We have more information than all the libraries in the last 3,000 years or so. We are saying we want send people to Mars. Really, how can we do so when we can't figure out ourselves?

Look, I got to be honest, we were and still are fighting against a combined front. But the Democrats better start fighting harder, no more civility anymore. That has gone out the window. We tried the high road, it hasn't gotten us anywhere. See, part of the reason we are in this mess is that they, the Republicans and their corporations/oligarchies took control of the narrative and we didn't fight hard enough by going after the oligarchs. Even before Biden and Obama, it was bound to occur since the whole narrative was that if we tax the rich, it will cascade down.

But then I think back to yesterday, my aunt was of course listening to BlazeTV (i.e. Glenn Beck), and she believes them hook, line, and sinker. They are saying crime is so high, Canada was supposedly going to have a right-wing revolt against the government (a coup d'etat). So that shows how we let this get out of hand, and we were complacent.

[hadEnuf]

82. I think we need a resistance forum.

Ideas on how to screw up and harass the Trump and Project 2025 agendas along with everything else they do.

Fight these fascist bastards any way we can.

[NJCher]

83. You can feel good at a time like this

I remember hearing this story on NPR. The speaker, a Californian was discussing his feelings about seeing his house burn down in the distance due to a wildfire. He marveled that he was feeling good at the very moment his house was burning down. Now, you might say, how could anyone feel this way? I will get to that in a moment.

Flash forward 10 months and the same narrator reflected on visiting his burnt down home, putting his life back together after the loss of important personal possessions, and how depression and despair never hit him. He said he felt good every day, including the first day he laid eyes on the pile of ruins that was once his home.

How was he able to do this?

He had been a regular when it came to meditation, as some people call it. I call it "focus." It's a way of clearing the mind and keeping intrusive thoughts out of it. That's all it is. There's no religion to it. It's just a practice of the mind.

It is one of the most studied topics in science. Study upon study has been done on it. Look into it for yourself if you don't believe me. "Scientific studies meditation" is your search term; use any search engine.

Or go to pubmed: there you will find the single term "meditation" turns up over 1000 pages citations of studies. Nearly all of these studies touch on the benefits of this practice.

A poster upthread said that you're not OK if you're hopeless (hah, notice the negative phrasing of this remark!). Utterly ridiculous and irresponsible to say, plus it's false.

I can promise you that trump has not given me a negative moment in my life. Never have I felt despair or hopelessness over this (yes) moron.

But then, I invest in myself for at least an hour a day in this practice, and I have (although somewhat inconsistently) done so for decades.

It doesn't take decades of practice to get the benefit. There have been developments that cut the time in feeling the positive effects. Binaural beats is one of them.

Someone else remarked about the dangers of a false sense of hope. That's not how it works. It works more like being reluctant to make a judgment and distancing oneself so that one can be more objective or neutral.

All day long I find myself saying, "I feel so good!" It's a wonderful place to be and just about anybody who wants to can get there if willing to invest the time.

I am enjoying every second of my life and I won't let trump take that down a notch, not even for a fraction of a second.