I was particularly interested in the conversation with the “optimistic” man. I never talk to anyone about this sort of thing, one or two tries and getting shut down with the “doomer” tag and from then on just keeping it to myself. To a degree I talk about it with those I call my “doomer” friends (who by the way are all doing amazing things like planting food forests and restoring land) but even amongst them, I feel like I’m the pessimist.
But like you say, that turn to acceptance, is like this incredible burden being lifted off your shoulders. All of a sudden I went from “WHAT DO WE DO??” to “ok, I’m here, this is how it’s going to be, what do you need me to do?”
I recognized the name, Buhner, he wrote some highly recommended plant medicine books and a herbal healing beers book. Sad to hear he’s become unalive. It took me so long to read your essay because I kept looking up stuff and getting lost down rabbit holes.
This morning I started a new book, a biography of William Blake. It opens with a lawyer meeting Blake at a party and writing in his journal about the casual way Blake talked about his relationships with spirits, angels and devils, and how he had met- in spirit- Socrates, Jesus etc. Robinson (the lawyer): "Shall I call him Artist or Genius- or Mystic- or Madman? Probably he is all."
I think the reason the conversation surprised me was that so much time (and historical water under the bridge) had passed since last time I tried- I thought maybe it was safe to come out of the Doomer closet. One thing's for sure, pessimism and optimism are not the right framing for such ideas.
New from Peter N. Limberg this morning: "I am not interested in doomscrolling toward greater hopelessness. Instead, I am fostering a 'free-floating hope,' nurturing a generalized sense of hope that floats throughout my life. "
Awww I miss you Rosie!!! 🥰 You and I will soon morph into the elderly crones who hate being Kassandras but also have more empathy and willingness for the 2 million species (minimum) currently on the brink of “forever-un-life” - I’m trying to think of what the librarian algorithm would call mass extinction... When I read this, other than missing you and wishing we could soon have another hilarious end of the world night around the fire surrounded by planets, white wolves, and infinity, I thought of my first few Medium pieces where I wrote about having become a “world expert in failing to save the world”. I’m with ya on this journey for sure, just less eloquently (2 days ago I yelled at a bunch of very powerful LBNL and DOE energy engineers that they “need to stop circlejerking and do something that works” rather than inventing new bits of tech or market failures that cause more injustice than do anything real to solve the collapsing planet!)
"Because I am an extremely extroverted thinker, more often than not I end up voicing my internal death prism monologues. This makes me a highly endearing party guest." LOL. I miss you too!
When I was in my early 20s I read a book that made a big impression on my thinking- The Happiness Myth by American philosopher Jennifer Michael Hecht. Hecht looks at happiness-advice throughout history and tries to distil ideas that transcend times and cultures. She boils it down to four, of which the biggest and most fundamental is REMEMBER DEATH. (This isn't advice on being a better person or etc, this is How To Be Happy.)
Hecht's other big idea in that book is about the tension between the three types of happiness- good-day happiness, good-life happiness, and euphoria. The first two are in tension with each other. Euphoria is extremely necessary but only in small quantities. So all the three types of happy-state need to be balanced against each other correctly.
She also says that if something's happening in your neighbourhood- street parties, events, etc- you should always go.
Unalive is a zoomer/gamer slang to avoid censorship, moderation automation is getting the kids to change the language even faster.
Unhoused feels like whitewashing, could be a change due to the negative connotations of being homeless that comes when housing speculators vilify a group and try to portray it's their fault for being lazy/gross/or/poor.
YES !
I was particularly interested in the conversation with the “optimistic” man. I never talk to anyone about this sort of thing, one or two tries and getting shut down with the “doomer” tag and from then on just keeping it to myself. To a degree I talk about it with those I call my “doomer” friends (who by the way are all doing amazing things like planting food forests and restoring land) but even amongst them, I feel like I’m the pessimist.
But like you say, that turn to acceptance, is like this incredible burden being lifted off your shoulders. All of a sudden I went from “WHAT DO WE DO??” to “ok, I’m here, this is how it’s going to be, what do you need me to do?”
I recognized the name, Buhner, he wrote some highly recommended plant medicine books and a herbal healing beers book. Sad to hear he’s become unalive. It took me so long to read your essay because I kept looking up stuff and getting lost down rabbit holes.
This morning I started a new book, a biography of William Blake. It opens with a lawyer meeting Blake at a party and writing in his journal about the casual way Blake talked about his relationships with spirits, angels and devils, and how he had met- in spirit- Socrates, Jesus etc. Robinson (the lawyer): "Shall I call him Artist or Genius- or Mystic- or Madman? Probably he is all."
I think the reason the conversation surprised me was that so much time (and historical water under the bridge) had passed since last time I tried- I thought maybe it was safe to come out of the Doomer closet. One thing's for sure, pessimism and optimism are not the right framing for such ideas.
New from Peter N. Limberg this morning: "I am not interested in doomscrolling toward greater hopelessness. Instead, I am fostering a 'free-floating hope,' nurturing a generalized sense of hope that floats throughout my life. "
https://lessfoolish.substack.com/p/free-floating-hope
Awww I miss you Rosie!!! 🥰 You and I will soon morph into the elderly crones who hate being Kassandras but also have more empathy and willingness for the 2 million species (minimum) currently on the brink of “forever-un-life” - I’m trying to think of what the librarian algorithm would call mass extinction... When I read this, other than missing you and wishing we could soon have another hilarious end of the world night around the fire surrounded by planets, white wolves, and infinity, I thought of my first few Medium pieces where I wrote about having become a “world expert in failing to save the world”. I’m with ya on this journey for sure, just less eloquently (2 days ago I yelled at a bunch of very powerful LBNL and DOE energy engineers that they “need to stop circlejerking and do something that works” rather than inventing new bits of tech or market failures that cause more injustice than do anything real to solve the collapsing planet!)
If you’re interested, here’s the first of a series of 4: https://medium.com/@DrSeaRotmann/does-trying-to-save-the-world-mean-having-to-embrace-death-fea4fcb07f51
"Because I am an extremely extroverted thinker, more often than not I end up voicing my internal death prism monologues. This makes me a highly endearing party guest." LOL. I miss you too!
When I was in my early 20s I read a book that made a big impression on my thinking- The Happiness Myth by American philosopher Jennifer Michael Hecht. Hecht looks at happiness-advice throughout history and tries to distil ideas that transcend times and cultures. She boils it down to four, of which the biggest and most fundamental is REMEMBER DEATH. (This isn't advice on being a better person or etc, this is How To Be Happy.)
Hecht's other big idea in that book is about the tension between the three types of happiness- good-day happiness, good-life happiness, and euphoria. The first two are in tension with each other. Euphoria is extremely necessary but only in small quantities. So all the three types of happy-state need to be balanced against each other correctly.
She also says that if something's happening in your neighbourhood- street parties, events, etc- you should always go.
Love that!!! GREAT advice 🥰
Unalive is a zoomer/gamer slang to avoid censorship, moderation automation is getting the kids to change the language even faster.
Unhoused feels like whitewashing, could be a change due to the negative connotations of being homeless that comes when housing speculators vilify a group and try to portray it's their fault for being lazy/gross/or/poor.