I was so distraught right after the election that I had thoughts of suicide. I'm a retired 70 yr old and depend on social security and medicare. But as a Buddhist, I realized that I needed to calm down and get a grip. You need to do that too. You can't let your mind feed on hopelessness and powerlessness. You need to find the courage in your heart to make your life meaningful. Yes we live in degenerate times, but we need to stay calm and find a way to deal with the situation that is of benefit to others.
Trump and his merry band of criminals and traitors are just that. We cannot change them to be better, more virtuous people. We can only change ourselves to be better, more virtuous people. The classical Greek virtues are wisdom, moderation, courage, and justice. For me that means doing my small part, what I can do to help Dems WIN ELECTIONS. Nothing ever changes until there is a critical mass assembled to effect a change. Not in physics. Not in politics. A critical mass of us needs to agree that Trump and Republican criminality cannot, will not be tolerated and left to stand. So that means that each of us must find the courage to not allow ourselves to sink into indifference and hopelessness. If tuning out news shows helps you to stay calm, then that is a good first step to find and regain your courageous heart. The next important step is to find some way to get involved locally, to work with others in your community to make a difference for the better. The road to happiness is to work for the benefit and happiness of others. It doesn't much matter how or where you choose to do that work. You can let your natural skills and life experience guide you in that regard. You can get involved in working in the campaign of a local running for office, teach a Sunday school class, coach a kid's sports team, volunteer to do meals on wheels, whatever. If you look around, you'll find that your life has target-rich opportunities to make a difference. But the important thing is to find a need where you can work for the benefit of others. These degenerate times are not about our own sad situation, even tho' they may be very sad indeed. These degenerate times are where we earn merit and gain wisdom in the effort to make the world better and bring some happiness and a better life to others.
So don't just sit around feeling sorry for yourself. That will not help you to regain your soul and be happy. Sorry if this reply seems harsh. My intention is to hear your despair and encourage you to calm down, get a grip, and find the courage in your heart to get busy working for the benefit of others.
I say the Buddhist prayer of the Four Immeasurables several times a day, and it helps me a lot to stay grounded and not sink into depression.
The Four Immeasurables -
May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes and conditions of happiness.
May they be free of suffering and the causes and conditions of suffering.
May they never be disassociated from the supreme happiness which is without suffering.
May they remain in the boundless equanimity, free from both attachment to close ones and rejection of others.
- Sending you a little ray of sunshine
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