I've been feeling fractured these days. Dare I say, schizoid, for that's how it appears when I look at the world.
Well, the world and its critters seem all right; it's the culture that has gone cuckoo, dare I say schizophrenic?
We've been fractured before, as in wartime, but now people are warring on each other, on friends, on family, on the capitol, the government, the lawmakers, the politicians, the pharmaceutical companies, the rich, the poor, and probably saying that God is on their side, and against the other. (As though God takes sides.)
And it all happened around the time Covid19 hit us. That pandemic was more than the flu, it was a pandemic of the human spirit, and nobody knew how to handle it.
During that time, it was as though the populist was stirred, and what came to the surface? The most vocal of the people. Pundits swam in the soup, Propaganda flourished like weeds, anonymous people dumped their brain droppings on the populist, and the populist fertilized their gardens with it. The weirder the droppings, the better the weeds.
Each side has its ideology. An ideology is a belief system. So, we are fighting over beliefs. Beliefs are thoughts we keep telling ourselves.
"Oh no," says one side, "I have data."
"Well, so do I," says the other.
"If you read what I read, you'd believe as I do."
Yeah, I would. But what if I see the world as a beautiful place, whole, flourishing, friendly, and kind. Would that help bring it about?
Would that be the proverbial ostrich's head in the sad, or would it assist the growth of kindness, generosity, service, and friendship?
And then I watch a documentary on happiness. It is Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss.
First, though, if you follow those amorphous, they. They say, "The search for happiness is the root of unhappiness."
It's like atoms change when observed. When we scrutinize something, it becomes embarrassed and hides, but let's take a peek.
In Iceland, they say happiness is a bottle of cod liver oil. (And reading the label, it does say it helps lift the mood) I suspect that if you live in a place that's dark most of the year, cod liver oil is a good idea.
Ghana: Can you believe Ghana is the most optimistic land on earth? Primarily because they have Hope that "Things will be better someday."
Changeability is high on the list. "Everything will work out."
Adaptability, "Embrace what comes your way." Isn't that what biology tells us? You either change it, move away, or die.
Expressing oneself creatively. In Iceland, there are more artists, musicians, and writers per Capita than anyplace else.
And then people—being with people and family. We are herd animals, after all.
And now, happiness reveals itself like the proverbial sculptor who says he just takes away what isn't his sculpture.
--Luise Rainer, actress