Over the past three months, I have been working excessively long hours, averaging 65 to 70 hours per week. Upon reflection, I discovered that I had only eight days of paid leave in the last ninety days, including Saturdays and Sundays. Consequently, I have been unable to engage in cycling as frequently as I would prefer, and I have had to prioritize self-care.
Although my hands have essentially returned to their normal state following the prolonged ride in May, I genuinely require some personal time. While I am not averse to life, I am experiencing a sense of loss and feeling as though I have sacrificed my well-being for a job that does not adequately recognize my contributions. This situation prompts me to question whether this is the mindset of the dozen individuals I know who tragically took their own lives in recent years.
I saw the video below and watched it—not once, not twice, but six times in a row. It was really impacting, at least to me. We are driven by greed and what it brings to society. That needs to change!! It is called "Why I Think This World Should End". https://youtu.be/itvnQ2QB4yc?si=FPU79h51d7mux_52
The world is coming to an end!
The air is polluted. The oceans are contaminated. The animals are going extinct.
The economies collapsed. Education is shot. Police are corrupt.
Intelligence is shunned and ignorance rewarded.
The people are depressed and angry.
We can't live with each other, and we can't live with ourselves, so everyone's medicated.
We pass each other on the streets, and if we do speak, it's meaningless robotic communication.
More people want 15 seconds of fame than a lifetime of meaning and purpose because what's popular is more important than what's right.
Ratings are more important than the truth.
Our government builds twice as many prisons and schools.
It’s easier to find a Big Mac than an apple. And when you find the apple, it's been genetically processed and modified.
Presidents lie. Politicians trick us.
Race is still an issue, and so is religion. Your God doesn't exist, my God does, and he is all-loving.
If you disagree with me, I’ll kill you or, even worse, argue you to death.
92% of the songs on the radio are about sex.
Kids don't play tag; they play twerk videos. The average person watches 5 hours of television a day, and there is more violence on the screen than ever before.
Technology is giving us everything we could ever want, and at the same time, stealing everything we really need.
Pride is at an all-time high, Humility is at an all-time low.
Everybody knows everything. Everybody's going somewhere, ignoring someone, blaming somebody.
Not many human beings left anymore. A lot of human doings.
Money is still the root of all evil. Yet we tell our kids Don't get that degree, the jobs don't pay enough.
Good deeds are only done when there's a profit margin.
Videos are the misfortunes of others go viral. We laugh and share them with our friends to share the laughter with us.
Our role models today are people who 60 years ago would have been examples of what not to be.
There are states where people can legally be discriminated against because they were born a certain way.
Companies invest millions of dollars hiring specialists to make little girls feel like they need make-up to be beautiful, permanently lowering their self-esteem because they will never be pretty enough to meet those impossible standards.
Corporations tell us buy, buy, buy! Get this! Get that! You must keep up, you must fit in; this will make you happy, but it never does for long.
So what can we do in the face of all this madness and chaos? What is the solution?
We can love, not the love you hear in your favorite song on the radio. I mean real love, true love, the boundless kind.
You can love. Love each other from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed.
Perform an act of kindness because that is contagious.
We can be mindful during every interaction, planting seeds of goodness, showing a little more compassion than usual.
We can forgive because 300 years from now, will that grudge you hold against your friend, your mother, your father have been worth it?
Instead of trying to change others, we can change ourselves. We can change our hearts.
We've been soaked in lies. Brain-washed by our leaders and those we trust, and not recognize our brothers and sisters who exhibit anger, hatred, and cruelty, but once we truly love, we will meet anger with sympathy, hatred with compassion, and cruelty with kindness.
Love is the most potent weapon on the face of the Earth.
Robert Kennedy once said that few will have the greatness to bend history. Still, each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the sum of all those acts, the history of a generation will be written.
Yes, the world is coming to an end, and the path towards a new beginning begins within you.
Strangely enough, because of our negativity and similar biases, every generation tends to feel as if it is the end of the world. This is why R.E.M.'s song remains just as relevant today as it was when it was released in 1987. We might be thinking, "No, this time it really is worse than ever!" We may be falling prey to the negativity bias by thinking it is. However, there are legitimate reasons to be concerned, and at the same time, hopeful. Please follow me as I explore these topics in this blog series!
To the best of my knowledge, shortness of breath and chest tightness are recurring daily challenges stemming from the inherent stress of life and work. While I do not foresee an imminent resolution to these issues, a solution must still be found, even if it remains elusive. After all, the sky is blue.
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