Dealing with the bleak
Iāve gone a whole day without looking at the news, or subjugated myself to doomscrolling the war in Ukraine. I got some sad family news this morning, and while that definitely put a dampener on my mood, I didnāt dwell on that more than necessary, I think. My dog is sick, Iām behind on sleep, and the workload is crazy.
Iāve put my head down, and gone to work.
Not that I have much choice, mind you, but knowing myself, and how I react when overwhelmed, I expected to lose it sometime last week already. I was, and I am being, saved by the fact that there are so many good things with the bad. Small things, material things, big things that seem small but really arenāt. Like being loved and seen, for example, or living in a country without a crazy despot waging war on your doorstep. Yeah, that last oneās a pretty big one.
I think weāre all a bit unbalanced at the moment. I know I am, and would be without my personal situation as well. Itās very much business as usual for some, where it isnāt for others. I see it with the agencyās clients. Some are barreling on like theyāre the most important thing in the world, whereas others tackle the tragedy that is the Ukrainian war a bit differently. Iām uncertain if anyoneās doing anything wrong because it is, as after all, business as usual. Maybe you throw some of that business towards people in need, in private or as a company, but that doesnāt mean that you need to discuss it at all times.
Itās weird, though. Itās like you have to mention the war, as opposed to the popular phrase.
This isnāt the first war in my lifetime, but it is the one closest, and the one that feels the most dangerous. Iām not certain that matters in the grand scheme of things, but it matters to me.
I write and edit Switch to iPad, as Iām sure most of you know. Thereās a paid subscription tier, and Iām happy to have people wanting to pay for my words. This month, Iām matching all new subscribers fees with a donation to UNICEF. Itās a good thing, Iāve seen others do similar things, but it still feels cheap to me. Like Iām freeloading, making a point, at the behest of people in need.
Iām not, obviously. I donāt really think anyone thinks of this, or me, like that, but thatās where the mind goes when things turn bleak. You know, post-doomscroll.
I write and edit WPSE too, a Swedish site and newsletter about WordPress. I havenāt even been able to bring myself to beg the sponsors for more money to run it. Itās better spent elsewhere, is what my mind is saying.
It does weird things with our minds, this world. It makes us sad and glum when we shouldnāt be.
It kills children, women, men, and people who really doesnāt want to be out there wielding guns. This world, itās pretty wicked, sometimes.
Except itās not, itās the people in it. Theyāre not many, the evildoers, but they tend to be in positions of power. The worst part is, they stay in power longer if they lie, deceive, and oppress the people. This, in turn, means that the only way to get rid of them is to rebel. Blood on the streets, and all that. Military coups, secret deals with other nations⦠Itās muddy, oh so muddy.
Youāve thought it too, havenāt you, seeing the sanctions against Russia? āThis will make them stand up to Putin. The people will rise.ā
Maybe they will, maybe they wonāt. They probably wonāt because they know what he, and his cohorts, do to dissidents. Itās not pretty. And you know this because the other truth is impossible for most of us: That the Russians like it the way things are.
They donāt. They just donāt know whatās true, or donāt feel like being gunned down in the street, to disappear, or to risk the lives of their families.
So, you think all those things, and then you turn to Twitter, watch all the madness, the cruelty, and read the hot-takes. Doomscrolling into oblivion, itās nigh impossible not to feel bad about things.
You donāt have to do that.
Skip the news for a while. Donāt go on social media for a bit. If you canāt bring yourself to it, due to your dopamine-driven addiction to your smartphone, get a dumbphone. Give yourself a chance to breathe, to think, and then, maybe, you can act.
Because thatās where weāre going, where we have to go: To action.
This world isnāt going to get lighter, or even less bleak, by itself.