posted October 05, 2012 07:52 AM            

We can't control stuff that happens in the world and the best we can do is to minimise harm and be kind to those around us.

There's no point living in fear that you might become a victim of something, because really each one of us could have any number of unseen things befall us at any time. You just have to live your life and if stuff happens then deal with it at the time.

posted October 05, 2012 08:07 AM            

people are exsposed to violence every day in our modern world...news,TV shows,internet etc.... and they become a bit numb to all thats happening

Also many people are very busy with their own problems to actually understand the magnitude of the things they aee and read about

posted October 05, 2012 08:47 AM            

as humans we are naturally very selective with the issues that we take to heart, not because we are cold or uncaring but because it's our defense mechanism. Personally i haven't voluntarily watched the news for years now. Horrible really, if i stop for one second to think of all the people suffering in Syria it just breaks my heart. so yes i chose to ignore it for my own well-being.

posted October 05, 2012 11:04 AM            

I find joy RP, it is all around us and I keep an eye out for it whenever possible.

posted October 05, 2012 11:19 AM            

When contemplated, it rings of truth and paves the way for lifes joys and sorrows.

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

To apply this great wisdom...

1. The past cannot be changed, so what there is to do is to accept what has been with no regrets, no resentments, and no call for vengeance.

2. Remember that there are a million "wrong things" in the world (as well as a billion "right things"), so focus your energies on addressing with courage the few issues closest to your heart, and accept the rest of life with serenity.

3. Never waste your time or energy complaining. Either take positive action, or accept with serenity. This is especially true with regard to politics and money.(add your list of things needed to balance)

posted October 05, 2012 04:35 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by PixieJane:

Also, this: [URL=http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/pictures-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity]http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/pictures-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity[/UR L]

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this made me cry after reading the first few

really is something wonderfull

posted October 05, 2012 04:41 PM            

1. I remember when I did deal with violent and dangerous times in my life. I was dealt some hard cards when I was born but I manged to play them well and remembering what I've survived not only relieves the rare depression I get (kinda hard not to appreciate all I have now when I think I what I had when I was 15) but also gives me confidence in believing I can survive what's coming (granted, I realize I could still die of disease, accident, bad drugs administered in a hospital, a stray bullet, or even falling off longboard at the wrong moment), especially with...

2. Preparation. I train, I equip myself with what I can use, I make contingencies so that if some natural or man made disaster happens I can feel confident that I stand a good chance. Detailing how I do this is probably pointless so I'm not going to bother. However, I'll leave this with you as just one example and that might actually interest you:
http://www.aware.org/

3. Humor. I learn to laugh. I think it's a bonus that I have some strong graveyard humor, too (though I have to be careful who I share this with, especially online where I don't have a tone of voice to reveal my lack of seriousness).

4. Without ignoring the negative (and negative possibilities) I focus on the positive and while I foster friends & allies I don't make myself fully dependent (there's a difference between interdependence & dependence) on them nor do I put too high of expectations on them...or myself. A dream also clued me in just how liberating it can be to let go of so many "shoulds" ("People should..." "I should..." "This should...") and instead replace it with "hopefully" (with "should" in place the disappointment and worse are too easy to experience and remember and then it comes to seem constant because what we learn in pain tends to be remembered a lot better).

5. I find hobbies that take up my concentration (from shooting to archery to longboarding to surfing) also help, it's like a mental vacation. Exercise (and sauna) also work out the stress hormones and can even create the pleasure of endorphins (and all this also ties into #2 above). And I'll BBS with an experience (*) I had, too...

posted October 05, 2012 04:48 PM            

quote:

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I had gotten off the comp this morn when a friend that I had just emailed a few minutes before called (since she knew I was up). She wanted us to go surfing with them. Having just gotten over a flu, I was thinking of saying no, but my roomie really wanted to go, so I agreed.

I am so glad for that.

We surfed as normal and the lingering depression and such from fighting off the flu was banished and I really enjoyed myself and the company. The morn was cloudy, but it was still beautiful, with fog in the distant hills, and the ocean itself vanishing off into the distant mists. There was rain, but it was very light--I'm not even sure it counts as rain. And hardly matters when you're in a wetsuit anyway.

And then the wind picked up. Friends had a wonderful idea, to try windsurfing. This was interesting, and I wasn't sure about it, having never done it before. When I finally tried, it took me some minutes just to not fall over, though they said I picked it up really fast. It was difficult because I had to hold my feet differently, and dealing with the harness. But at some point, WHOOSH, the SPEED! I couldn't help it: I screamed with joy, and I was SO glad we had come.

And then the sun broke through.... not direct, but close. The water turned from gray to aqua, and I was suddenly recalling when I was like 6-10, how I'd get up before Mom & Dad (and often before dawn back then) and go outside and explore, play, go to friend's houses.... I felt so free and there was a stark beauty to life that I rarely feel (at least sober) since I guess I became a teen. And then I surpassed even that, and I reached a state that was nothing less than ecstasy, I'd say on par (though distinct and different in its own way) to mind altering dancing or sex, and perhaps even more fulfilling in its own way.

If there was any doubt about fighting to survive the dark times in my life, it was dispelled at this moment of utter beauty in which I lived totally within this miraculous moment, my shout and my heart praising the Goddess of Life and for this moment in Life, one that was worth every horror and ache I had endured just to be here. Tears came down my face (just a few), and I knew that when I die, should my life flash before my eyes, this exact moment will be replayed, and if it affects my body at all, I will smile then, at peace, knowing it was all worth it in part to this one ineffable moment.

What else is there to say? My cold seemed to come back but it went away again, and it was hardly even noted (at least not by me--and we were all wet enough anyway). I found out that the wind was LIGHT (like how fast would I have gone in a HIGH wind???) Because we messed with the boards (including the beginner board I had borrowed), we failed to miss the churches getting out and ended up eating at a Pizza Hut for awhile to give the traffic a chance to die down more.

Now I am home. I've showered, dishes are now washing, warms are washing and hots are drying. Today was awesome, and I'm sharing. If you get a chance to try something new like that, and to be out in nature in a way that helps you to fuse with it, if just for a moment, then avail yourself of the moment. If more people did, psychiatry would be an endangered profession.

As the Wiccans say, Blessed Be (it seems appropriate to now).

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posted October 05, 2012 05:15 PM            

For me, I survive by learning from the negative and enjoying the positive. Goodness can be found in any situation, even the greatest tragedy. Tragedy can not exist without Joy.

posted October 05, 2012 06:33 PM            

I stay away from the news too, as the sadness and negativity brings me down. Especially when it involves children ): I'm very empathetic and feel sad and receive visuals of what it must have been like for the person to go through something horrible. I disliked my criminal minds class because the feelings & thoughts of the victims would linger for days.