Depravity and brutality have existed all along with beauty and creativity. But for a long time, we were oblivious to it. Now as the global consciousness unites, we are experiencing all of the world , all at once.
The ugly , and the beautiful , is all being revealed to us together. We now have to learn , how to be happy and to be well informed at once.
Cierto Mayank, igual me equivoco y me perdones si me sucede equivocarme, no veo en ti, ningún apice de culpa y tal vez hagas bien no gobernando ningún territorio del planeta. Hemos sido, tu, yo y aquel al que no conocemos los causantes de donde ha llegado la Tierra, pertenece a la misma raza que perteecemos tu y yó, la raza humana, o tal vez lo peor de nosotos mismos, es lo que gobierna el mundo en la actualidad, amigo, no te olvides nunca, de tu participipación existes y juntos estamos consintiendo que exterminen a un pueblo de miles y miles y millones de seres humanos inocentes, que van descalzos, hambrientos, sedientos y los estan matandoo con el frio de dormir en la calle, esos somos tu , yo y el que no conocemos, en palestina.
Rodeados de horror como estamos, necesitamos encontrar la manera de dar un paso atrás y respirar, como dice Caitlin. Es la única manera de seguir encontrando la fuerza suficiente para negar el consentimiento a la criminalidad.
it's precisely the depravity and brutality that make finding that peaceful center that Caitlin speaks of crucial. To feel the wind on your skin or a bird fly and feel the exquisite joy is a must to stay grounded.
I have a fine life here on my farm. I’m youthful for my age. I’m active and my health is good. I’m surrounded by nature. I have all the necessities of life.
But I’ll never again be “happy”. The world is filled with too much fuckery initiated by fellow human beings.
Caitlin, I’m sorry, but I disagree. The best I can find is a sort of contentment, and even that’s unsettled.
I agree Gypsy. The fleeting notes of happiness, pleasure, joy or even basic contentment are diminished by awareness of the abject fucking misery being inflicted on those already in perilous situations. I extract what I can from the positives in Caitlin's essay but it's bloody challenging.
The Epstein files and the knowledge of who actually controls us pushed me over the edge. The combination of this and the genocide of my people have robbed me of any possibility of “happiness”.
I might experience some pleasure at seeing a particular flower opening, or the first blackbird of spring. But those feelings are fleeting and in the long run, unimportant.
When I travel, and remove myself from any news or media source for a while, I can and do experience pure joy...and then I remember.
For me it's the knowledge that everything I love, value and have always turned to for that joy is being killed, removed, twisted or destroyed - forever. Then, I will have nothing. Worse, every meaning life has ever had will be gone.
Hello gypsy33. Good on ya. The fake 'happiness' agenda has gotten us to where we are today... The "pursuit" of happiness drives world economies, and that's why everyone's become morally bankrupt. Jus' sayin'...
I used to have a friend for whom dropping $2k on a fucking HANDBAG made her very happy.
All I can do is escape into a bubble in which for me, involves either artwork or gardening, both very inexpensive activities. Then the world goes away for a while.
She might be confusing "pleasure" with "happiness". Its a common confusion, that many of us suffer from. In fact, the whole advertising industry operates on this confusion (eg: McDonald's Happy Meal).
I am learning to discern between the two, and here is my understanding.
Pleasure is a temporary physiological state reached triggered by external stimuli and linked to release of hormones like dopamine.
Happiness is an internal state of being, attained characterized by a lack of suffering.
Yes, Gypsy, the “world goes away for a while” but it’s still there and headed for nuclear catastrophe. But the fate of the world is not in your hands (and for that you can be happy or at least grateful) but if you find one little lever that will tip events in another direction, then apply that pressure. If everyone did just one little thing like that, a different outcome might be possible.
I sat on the steps of my former US congressman’s local office with a large sign that read D** K***** SUPPORTS GENOCIDE when it began. He eventually voted against sending arms to IsraHell, but he had cancer and wasn’t running again.
I can’t say it was because of me but perhaps I helped.
I call my present congresswhore’s office daily, demanding a meeting or a phone call, with regards to her campaign contributions from AIPAC and her votes to send “military aid” to Israhell. Crickets of course.
I have thought about shooting myself in the head on the White House steps and I couldn’t be more serious. But who remembers Aaron Bushnell’s sacrifice? When’s the last time anyone’s spoken of him? The press would peg me as a depressive (true enough) who was suicidal anyways. I don’t reside in a bubble, Kathleen. I retreat there occasionally in order to keep my sanity.
Thank you, that's an impressive resume of actions! Yes, everyone needs space to decompress. In Caitlin's original message, it must be noted that she's an artist, VERY good painter, and that role is a space to itself, which is already set apart from other activities, while, it seems, a large part of the population doesn't even have one full mental state. Especially that which resides in MAGA world, ignorance is bliss, "I get all the news I want in the weather report" (Paul Simon). But as you indicate, the effect of any single person's actions, of even major magnitude, cannot overcome the inertia of the establishment.
Fake happiness, yes. I think Caitlin means "inner peace", rather than the "smile and say thank you" instruction which we get from our "free" market overlords.
Hi Dorothy. I think much of the problem is depravity and brutality receive much more press than other facets of life. The major media "corps" continually project negative magic and negative reaction. All by design... Major media companies are parroting script handed to them via the Associated Press, and departure from the script results in near immediate job termination. Manipulation of 'News' is big business and traumatizing the public is a documented security State agenda. Many persons coming to these pages are aware of the ploy.
In my opinion, being "happy" is one of the silliest human objectives ever invented. A person is either contented - or not. Happiness is an illusion. A projection... Best regards.
Dorothy, I recently was in Spain and one of the museums where I was visiting had an exhibit on the Inquisition. The exhibit was mostly an exhibit of around 50 different tools of torture used to inflict outrageous harm on heretics. And this effort was run by the church. My point is that depravity and brutality have always been present. To think otherwise is incorrect. There has never been an extended period in the U.S. where some version of depravity and brutality have not been present. I could walk you through every decade of American history since 1776. And it certainly is present today.
So, you can’t ignore its presence and think it has gone away. In my opinion, the challenge for many of us is to find a path that helps, in some small or large way, to create a better world. When I am engaged in doing a version of that, I feel centered, grounded and at peace.
I agree Dorothy, we live in tremendously chaotic, challenging, disheartening and difficult times. But we can at least make our best effort to appreciate the good things in this life, and value the connections we have with others. These are the aspects of life that give us something to keep living for, even when it seems everything else is falling apart around us
La civilización occidental se muere, y se resiste a morir, es lo que está sucediendo, en todos los paises que presumen de la mierda que tienen a la que llaman democracia, libertad, justicia y no se cuantas más mierdas, empaquetadas. es lo que sucede Dorotthy, no sólo tee sucede a ti sucede a media humanidad gobernada por criminales asesinos, corruptos y mal nacidas persona, te hablo desde España donde la degradación social ha llegado mucho más lejos y profundo que el infierno.
Himsn mental health seems to need some happiness or at kesdt peace to survive. Apparently the ev il ones who rule most of the planet eg Rothschilds warmongers who own many governments & created Israel, know that filling MSM, Hollywood, Social Media with horror will damage human minds & shake them especially childrens and this is s part of their 'Omniwar' ie war from all directions to destroy the human race. It is hard to believe - as the saying goes, the bigger the lie the easier it is to believe ie 'no-one would do THAT' etc After seeing what Epstein & many did to babies ,I realise I need to look at less for a while or for ever because its difficult to get the horror out of my mind - most including me, want to DO something to stop this evil but we have little or no power so the anger wtc can wear us down mentallyb& physically. Most humans seem to need happiness from some source I believe - just to survive mentally & physically - mind and body are linked, probably are one. Finding happiness, peace not easy either often but worth trying to do.
She is so spot on here. To resist the evil in this world and not succumb to it means not only being aware and calling it out, but still centering oneself in the healthy and beautiful, to stand and live in counterpoint.
"It’s very possible to be both happy and well-informed. We live in an explosively beautiful universe, and getting to experience anything at all is amazing. The fact that our world is plagued by human butchery and degradation does not cancel out the majesty of a bird in the sky, or the ecstasy of the wind upon your skin."
I agree. In fact, there are times when I can’t help but feel joy, or marvel at something natural and beautiful. The other feeling, however, is guilt. That I should feel such joy, such wonder while others suffer unimaginably. But then, the joy and the wonder come back. And I think of those Palestinian children playing and laughing between bombings, the weddings and graduations that still take place in Palestine. And I am in awe of those courageous people and that brings some joy and hope.
My friend, finding space for both in thought is very hard for me. I will step outside after sundown on Feb. 28th and watch the 6 planet ecliptic a rare event for many. Mercury is so hard to see in the wake of artificial light. OH for that mountain top on Tololo with the darkest of night sky. Just reliving that memory helps me stay connected to you : )
"I don't do guilt" has becime one of my mantras. Especailly when oeoole.tru to use it over me. It is the ultimate manipulation.. i have renounced guilt.. the self inflicted kind as well as societal. It's good to acknowledge its existence then to speak to it by saying "no to guilt".. (excluding criminal of course..lol)
Too many of us end up feeling guilty for being alive.. No sense in it.. It doesn't serve you. And is an often subtle but bery powerful form of masochism.. When we live or love without apologies, we encourage others to do the same ❤️
Here, as I approach 85, is my unsolicited perspective: we don't achieve happiness by trying, by spiritual awareness, or by feeling our feelings through, tho that is essential. We achieve happiness, which is fleeting, by helping others less fortunate than ourselves. Some like
Caitlin do this by writing to educate and inspire others; some volunteer in work in food banks, millions march and protest....on behalf or the victims or injustice some just sing the blues, transfoirming pain into beauty.
Such efforts bring something deeper than happiness which we call joy, the feeling of one's actions aligned with one's values, of residing in a deeper residence than the fragmented and toxic environment into which we are cast. IN my view, this is only possible through the conscious act of rebellion, of rejecting the values which alienated us fom ourselves, and then by joining with others, in whatever ways we can, according to our talents,with others in a spirit of rebellion and thus participating in a movement, rooted in compassion, to change the world we are forced to reel and confront.
This creates what Camus called "a strange form of love"....strange because it defies our normal expectations and is often felt towards total strangers with whom we have joined, united not in hatred but in empathy for those who, suffering, cannot join us.
It is this creation of love that delivers the inner peace, in a violent world, as we oppose it, that brings joy ane allows us the courage to feel our feelings to the root and transcend them and to hear the birdsong, the wind whispering through the trees.
Thank you for this beautifully written piece, agree wholehearted it is the small wins and joining with other great souls that keeps us alive and able to withstand the butchery we see
Thank you for this, Caitlin. I have just had some serious surgery which is taking a long time to recover from. After reading the news,I have had the fleeting thought that maybe it just does not matter. "It is also true that getting to live even a single moment on this astonishing blue planet is a gift worthy of immense joy and gratitude." You are right. Every moment we get to live on this incredible planet is one to savour. We cannot let those that do not see guide us. This is just what I needed to read this morning.
First, I wish you to recover well, Susan, even if it will take time.
Then I thank Caitlin for her wise words. I live in a part of the earth in which nature is awakening, in almost the spring with its miracles.
Nevertheless, I often ask myself how people around me can live and do as usual, as if we were not living in, let's say inhumanity, getting worse day after day. It's difficult for me. I rather think that our beauty is destroyed by warmongerers out of greed.
I don't think we can live and do "as usual". That does not mean that we cannot appreciate and be grateful for the beauty that surrounds us. Even the squirrels. The birds. The new plants pushing their way through the dirt.
Thank you Caitlin : ) I Think this article will be the Constitution for the Nation of Caitlin.
As you write, I do struggle at times trying not to turn away from Genocide, War, Famine, Poverty, Climate crisis outside my bubble. Sometimes reading your work as well as other writers I find tears on my face without realizing it. A friend said I should avoid reading these informing works so I could suppress my sadness. NOPE, I said not knowing is the most painful experience. I said I allow myself to feel in order to continue the work we all need to do. I noticed a slight nod of acceptance. I have a tear on my cheek knowing whats coming.
I am thankful for the Nation of Caitlin, informative and mentally healing.
Well said. So strange this life of light and dark.
The sadness of the horrors and depravity can be overwhelming though. Loss, failure, rejection, the horrors you witness that other people live through - a sense of meaninglessness and loss of purpose that comes with all that falls away. Loss: as in those you have loved (or wanted to love). Loss of your own vitality in life as the splendor of youth fades. Loss of hope for better things to come. And a road that leads nowhere, is that a road worth living? Mere living, mere painful living - is that not absurd?
And yet there is this undeniable beauty and grandness to reality. At night, all those stars above, some of them galaxies - billions and billions of planets. Why is there existence at all? Even in all the sadness in the world, there still lies beauty, and the miracle of consciousness itself (still a mystery to science), and even love that each of us (if we are lucky) have felt in what we feel in our souls - and maybe might feel again (if we are lucky) - maybe again, somewhere - some place.
These very reasons for Joy and Happiness are why the Epstein Class hates us... hates Humanity.
They can feel neither Joy or Happiness. Even as they spiral into Their bottomless pit of depravity and corruption... They receive only insanity & chaos. Nothing resembling the contentment of rolling in the grass with your dog and watching the birds.
The Epstein-Predator/Parasite Class hate us because They can no longer Feel anything.
I feel such warmth of spirit when I hear some of Jesse Welles' songs, that tears can blossom.
Community is Our Greatest strength... and They will do anything to break Us apart.
Balance is everything in our lives. I believe truth, sometimes as painful as it is to acknowledge it, does set us free. Ignorance is not bliss. Knowing what we are up against is imperative for facing the challenges and dangers that come our way regularly. On the other hand, if we remain awake, as Caitlin alluded to, the absolute beauty and astounding complexity of creation that surrounds us daily, we can more readily come away from the "bad news" of the next news cycle, and actually experience a calm, invigorated, and grateful assurance that, beneath the "madness" is a good world full of beauty and possibility.
Given lemons, make lemonade? It's not such bad advice, but I guess, in the process, we should also take a moment to enjoy the unique combination of flavors that only lemons provide. One of your best Caitlin. Thanks.
Thanks, possibly the wisest writing I have come across this year! I would add that there is always hope, that one day everything will be put right in the world. I like to think those of us wishing for a better world are part of a multi-generational project to make things right in the world. The rising life expectancy and falling mortality and morbidity, the success of the socialist project in China and falling absolute poverty are all signs that a better world is ahead of us.
Yes, China gives me hope. I have a relative who is no longer with us tell me years and years ago that "China is the one to watch out for" in the context of an enemy. However, I think I'd like to think his ideas would have changed by now. What a wonderful civilization! They innovate, cultivate and build, while we stagnate, divide and destroy. And we have to sit on the sidelines and watch as it happens in front of our eyes. I try to see the beauty of the world every single day, but I can't escape the cold hard fact that I hate this fucking country.
I try to consciously be aware that all humans are connected, even the ones I hate. I practice focusing on that connection and I choose to believe it's beautiful. So even if there are human-made horrors and depravity, even if people choose actions that go against all my morals and beliefs, for better and worse, this bond that exist between everyone (and, really, everything) allows me to feel a balance between good and evil. I think it's basically empathy.
(This is a coping mechanism like any other, but it's the one that has been working for me.)
My rage fueled anxiety/depression got really bad post October 2023 and I've only recently been able to "see" and "feel" things this way. So I agree with you, it's very, very hard, but not impossible.
I think one thing that shifted something in me was the acceptance that we all experience death. And that is only 1 thing we share, but a powerful one. Other things: we were all chidren at some point; we very likely all felt lonely at some point in our lives; we're all made of cells; etc. So then you tell yourself other things that every single human being can't escape from. Once you build (and feel) this list, you start to recognise (and feel) a sort of "bundle of things" (you can call it energy or whatever you prefer), and this bundle represents the connection I mentioned.
It's a bit metaphysical, I suppose... But it helps me.
I read this and value it but I don’t know if I can do it. There is no end to the depravity and brutality of these times.
Depravity and brutality have existed all along with beauty and creativity. But for a long time, we were oblivious to it. Now as the global consciousness unites, we are experiencing all of the world , all at once.
The ugly , and the beautiful , is all being revealed to us together. We now have to learn , how to be happy and to be well informed at once.
Cierto Mayank, igual me equivoco y me perdones si me sucede equivocarme, no veo en ti, ningún apice de culpa y tal vez hagas bien no gobernando ningún territorio del planeta. Hemos sido, tu, yo y aquel al que no conocemos los causantes de donde ha llegado la Tierra, pertenece a la misma raza que perteecemos tu y yó, la raza humana, o tal vez lo peor de nosotos mismos, es lo que gobierna el mundo en la actualidad, amigo, no te olvides nunca, de tu participipación existes y juntos estamos consintiendo que exterminen a un pueblo de miles y miles y millones de seres humanos inocentes, que van descalzos, hambrientos, sedientos y los estan matandoo con el frio de dormir en la calle, esos somos tu , yo y el que no conocemos, en palestina.
Rodeados de horror como estamos, necesitamos encontrar la manera de dar un paso atrás y respirar, como dice Caitlin. Es la única manera de seguir encontrando la fuerza suficiente para negar el consentimiento a la criminalidad.
it's precisely the depravity and brutality that make finding that peaceful center that Caitlin speaks of crucial. To feel the wind on your skin or a bird fly and feel the exquisite joy is a must to stay grounded.
I’m with you, Dorothy.
I have a fine life here on my farm. I’m youthful for my age. I’m active and my health is good. I’m surrounded by nature. I have all the necessities of life.
But I’ll never again be “happy”. The world is filled with too much fuckery initiated by fellow human beings.
Caitlin, I’m sorry, but I disagree. The best I can find is a sort of contentment, and even that’s unsettled.
I agree Gypsy. The fleeting notes of happiness, pleasure, joy or even basic contentment are diminished by awareness of the abject fucking misery being inflicted on those already in perilous situations. I extract what I can from the positives in Caitlin's essay but it's bloody challenging.
Hi David
The Epstein files and the knowledge of who actually controls us pushed me over the edge. The combination of this and the genocide of my people have robbed me of any possibility of “happiness”.
I might experience some pleasure at seeing a particular flower opening, or the first blackbird of spring. But those feelings are fleeting and in the long run, unimportant.
That's how I feel.
When I travel, and remove myself from any news or media source for a while, I can and do experience pure joy...and then I remember.
For me it's the knowledge that everything I love, value and have always turned to for that joy is being killed, removed, twisted or destroyed - forever. Then, I will have nothing. Worse, every meaning life has ever had will be gone.
Hello gypsy33. Good on ya. The fake 'happiness' agenda has gotten us to where we are today... The "pursuit" of happiness drives world economies, and that's why everyone's become morally bankrupt. Jus' sayin'...
Thanks Paul.
I used to have a friend for whom dropping $2k on a fucking HANDBAG made her very happy.
All I can do is escape into a bubble in which for me, involves either artwork or gardening, both very inexpensive activities. Then the world goes away for a while.
She might be confusing "pleasure" with "happiness". Its a common confusion, that many of us suffer from. In fact, the whole advertising industry operates on this confusion (eg: McDonald's Happy Meal).
I am learning to discern between the two, and here is my understanding.
Pleasure is a temporary physiological state reached triggered by external stimuli and linked to release of hormones like dopamine.
Happiness is an internal state of being, attained characterized by a lack of suffering.
The McDonald's company logo is a clown! Not sure about you, but I have always found clowns to be rather sinister.
Behind every corporate mascot is a whole lot of creepy, sinister and disgusting. Their masks came off so dramatically in the last few years.
Yes, Gypsy, the “world goes away for a while” but it’s still there and headed for nuclear catastrophe. But the fate of the world is not in your hands (and for that you can be happy or at least grateful) but if you find one little lever that will tip events in another direction, then apply that pressure. If everyone did just one little thing like that, a different outcome might be possible.
Well, Kathleen. I’ve done what I can.
I sat on the steps of my former US congressman’s local office with a large sign that read D** K***** SUPPORTS GENOCIDE when it began. He eventually voted against sending arms to IsraHell, but he had cancer and wasn’t running again.
I can’t say it was because of me but perhaps I helped.
I call my present congresswhore’s office daily, demanding a meeting or a phone call, with regards to her campaign contributions from AIPAC and her votes to send “military aid” to Israhell. Crickets of course.
I have thought about shooting myself in the head on the White House steps and I couldn’t be more serious. But who remembers Aaron Bushnell’s sacrifice? When’s the last time anyone’s spoken of him? The press would peg me as a depressive (true enough) who was suicidal anyways. I don’t reside in a bubble, Kathleen. I retreat there occasionally in order to keep my sanity.
Thank you, that's an impressive resume of actions! Yes, everyone needs space to decompress. In Caitlin's original message, it must be noted that she's an artist, VERY good painter, and that role is a space to itself, which is already set apart from other activities, while, it seems, a large part of the population doesn't even have one full mental state. Especially that which resides in MAGA world, ignorance is bliss, "I get all the news I want in the weather report" (Paul Simon). But as you indicate, the effect of any single person's actions, of even major magnitude, cannot overcome the inertia of the establishment.
Fake happiness, yes. I think Caitlin means "inner peace", rather than the "smile and say thank you" instruction which we get from our "free" market overlords.
Hi Dorothy. I think much of the problem is depravity and brutality receive much more press than other facets of life. The major media "corps" continually project negative magic and negative reaction. All by design... Major media companies are parroting script handed to them via the Associated Press, and departure from the script results in near immediate job termination. Manipulation of 'News' is big business and traumatizing the public is a documented security State agenda. Many persons coming to these pages are aware of the ploy.
In my opinion, being "happy" is one of the silliest human objectives ever invented. A person is either contented - or not. Happiness is an illusion. A projection... Best regards.
Thank you. I do not read or follow any mainstream media. It is poison.
Is it possible to be healthy in a sick society? To fit in well don’t we need to be a little sick?
Can you listen to a bluebird sing and the cries of a dying child from our bombs at the same moment?
There are fine lines everywhere…
I live in the real world, and it is ugly.
And uglier by the day, Feral.
I’ve no idea how anyone who’s the least bit aware can experience happiness.
Dorothy, I recently was in Spain and one of the museums where I was visiting had an exhibit on the Inquisition. The exhibit was mostly an exhibit of around 50 different tools of torture used to inflict outrageous harm on heretics. And this effort was run by the church. My point is that depravity and brutality have always been present. To think otherwise is incorrect. There has never been an extended period in the U.S. where some version of depravity and brutality have not been present. I could walk you through every decade of American history since 1776. And it certainly is present today.
So, you can’t ignore its presence and think it has gone away. In my opinion, the challenge for many of us is to find a path that helps, in some small or large way, to create a better world. When I am engaged in doing a version of that, I feel centered, grounded and at peace.
Best wishes!
I agree Dorothy, we live in tremendously chaotic, challenging, disheartening and difficult times. But we can at least make our best effort to appreciate the good things in this life, and value the connections we have with others. These are the aspects of life that give us something to keep living for, even when it seems everything else is falling apart around us
La civilización occidental se muere, y se resiste a morir, es lo que está sucediendo, en todos los paises que presumen de la mierda que tienen a la que llaman democracia, libertad, justicia y no se cuantas más mierdas, empaquetadas. es lo que sucede Dorotthy, no sólo tee sucede a ti sucede a media humanidad gobernada por criminales asesinos, corruptos y mal nacidas persona, te hablo desde España donde la degradación social ha llegado mucho más lejos y profundo que el infierno.
Keep trying. It's not impossible.
I have to find and create joy and happiness; otherwise I would have gone completely nuts a long time ago. To me it is a must.
Himsn mental health seems to need some happiness or at kesdt peace to survive. Apparently the ev il ones who rule most of the planet eg Rothschilds warmongers who own many governments & created Israel, know that filling MSM, Hollywood, Social Media with horror will damage human minds & shake them especially childrens and this is s part of their 'Omniwar' ie war from all directions to destroy the human race. It is hard to believe - as the saying goes, the bigger the lie the easier it is to believe ie 'no-one would do THAT' etc After seeing what Epstein & many did to babies ,I realise I need to look at less for a while or for ever because its difficult to get the horror out of my mind - most including me, want to DO something to stop this evil but we have little or no power so the anger wtc can wear us down mentallyb& physically. Most humans seem to need happiness from some source I believe - just to survive mentally & physically - mind and body are linked, probably are one. Finding happiness, peace not easy either often but worth trying to do.
Thank You Caitlin
She is so spot on here. To resist the evil in this world and not succumb to it means not only being aware and calling it out, but still centering oneself in the healthy and beautiful, to stand and live in counterpoint.
"It’s very possible to be both happy and well-informed. We live in an explosively beautiful universe, and getting to experience anything at all is amazing. The fact that our world is plagued by human butchery and degradation does not cancel out the majesty of a bird in the sky, or the ecstasy of the wind upon your skin."
I agree. In fact, there are times when I can’t help but feel joy, or marvel at something natural and beautiful. The other feeling, however, is guilt. That I should feel such joy, such wonder while others suffer unimaginably. But then, the joy and the wonder come back. And I think of those Palestinian children playing and laughing between bombings, the weddings and graduations that still take place in Palestine. And I am in awe of those courageous people and that brings some joy and hope.
My friend, finding space for both in thought is very hard for me. I will step outside after sundown on Feb. 28th and watch the 6 planet ecliptic a rare event for many. Mercury is so hard to see in the wake of artificial light. OH for that mountain top on Tololo with the darkest of night sky. Just reliving that memory helps me stay connected to you : )
"I don't do guilt" has becime one of my mantras. Especailly when oeoole.tru to use it over me. It is the ultimate manipulation.. i have renounced guilt.. the self inflicted kind as well as societal. It's good to acknowledge its existence then to speak to it by saying "no to guilt".. (excluding criminal of course..lol)
Too many of us end up feeling guilty for being alive.. No sense in it.. It doesn't serve you. And is an often subtle but bery powerful form of masochism.. When we live or love without apologies, we encourage others to do the same ❤️
Here, as I approach 85, is my unsolicited perspective: we don't achieve happiness by trying, by spiritual awareness, or by feeling our feelings through, tho that is essential. We achieve happiness, which is fleeting, by helping others less fortunate than ourselves. Some like
Caitlin do this by writing to educate and inspire others; some volunteer in work in food banks, millions march and protest....on behalf or the victims or injustice some just sing the blues, transfoirming pain into beauty.
Such efforts bring something deeper than happiness which we call joy, the feeling of one's actions aligned with one's values, of residing in a deeper residence than the fragmented and toxic environment into which we are cast. IN my view, this is only possible through the conscious act of rebellion, of rejecting the values which alienated us fom ourselves, and then by joining with others, in whatever ways we can, according to our talents,with others in a spirit of rebellion and thus participating in a movement, rooted in compassion, to change the world we are forced to reel and confront.
This creates what Camus called "a strange form of love"....strange because it defies our normal expectations and is often felt towards total strangers with whom we have joined, united not in hatred but in empathy for those who, suffering, cannot join us.
It is this creation of love that delivers the inner peace, in a violent world, as we oppose it, that brings joy ane allows us the courage to feel our feelings to the root and transcend them and to hear the birdsong, the wind whispering through the trees.
Thank you for this beautifully written piece, agree wholehearted it is the small wins and joining with other great souls that keeps us alive and able to withstand the butchery we see
Thank you for this, Caitlin. I have just had some serious surgery which is taking a long time to recover from. After reading the news,I have had the fleeting thought that maybe it just does not matter. "It is also true that getting to live even a single moment on this astonishing blue planet is a gift worthy of immense joy and gratitude." You are right. Every moment we get to live on this incredible planet is one to savour. We cannot let those that do not see guide us. This is just what I needed to read this morning.
First, I wish you to recover well, Susan, even if it will take time.
Then I thank Caitlin for her wise words. I live in a part of the earth in which nature is awakening, in almost the spring with its miracles.
Nevertheless, I often ask myself how people around me can live and do as usual, as if we were not living in, let's say inhumanity, getting worse day after day. It's difficult for me. I rather think that our beauty is destroyed by warmongerers out of greed.
I don't think we can live and do "as usual". That does not mean that we cannot appreciate and be grateful for the beauty that surrounds us. Even the squirrels. The birds. The new plants pushing their way through the dirt.
You are right. Thanks
It’s actually very unlikely to be both well and detached from reality. We lose a piece of humanity every time we look away.
Thank you Caitlin : ) I Think this article will be the Constitution for the Nation of Caitlin.
As you write, I do struggle at times trying not to turn away from Genocide, War, Famine, Poverty, Climate crisis outside my bubble. Sometimes reading your work as well as other writers I find tears on my face without realizing it. A friend said I should avoid reading these informing works so I could suppress my sadness. NOPE, I said not knowing is the most painful experience. I said I allow myself to feel in order to continue the work we all need to do. I noticed a slight nod of acceptance. I have a tear on my cheek knowing whats coming.
I am thankful for the Nation of Caitlin, informative and mentally healing.
Love this so much, thank you!
Well said. So strange this life of light and dark.
The sadness of the horrors and depravity can be overwhelming though. Loss, failure, rejection, the horrors you witness that other people live through - a sense of meaninglessness and loss of purpose that comes with all that falls away. Loss: as in those you have loved (or wanted to love). Loss of your own vitality in life as the splendor of youth fades. Loss of hope for better things to come. And a road that leads nowhere, is that a road worth living? Mere living, mere painful living - is that not absurd?
And yet there is this undeniable beauty and grandness to reality. At night, all those stars above, some of them galaxies - billions and billions of planets. Why is there existence at all? Even in all the sadness in the world, there still lies beauty, and the miracle of consciousness itself (still a mystery to science), and even love that each of us (if we are lucky) have felt in what we feel in our souls - and maybe might feel again (if we are lucky) - maybe again, somewhere - some place.
Thank you, Caitlin!
These very reasons for Joy and Happiness are why the Epstein Class hates us... hates Humanity.
They can feel neither Joy or Happiness. Even as they spiral into Their bottomless pit of depravity and corruption... They receive only insanity & chaos. Nothing resembling the contentment of rolling in the grass with your dog and watching the birds.
The Epstein-Predator/Parasite Class hate us because They can no longer Feel anything.
I feel such warmth of spirit when I hear some of Jesse Welles' songs, that tears can blossom.
Community is Our Greatest strength... and They will do anything to break Us apart.
JOIN TOGETHER IRL- Peace.
💯 United ,they can't break us
I don’t know Jesse Welles, but I will. Bach does the same for me.
He's a very prolific folk/political singer and is on YouTube... for now ;)
Yes, any music that inspires so much Common, raw feelings, can't be a coincidence.
Peace.
Balance is everything in our lives. I believe truth, sometimes as painful as it is to acknowledge it, does set us free. Ignorance is not bliss. Knowing what we are up against is imperative for facing the challenges and dangers that come our way regularly. On the other hand, if we remain awake, as Caitlin alluded to, the absolute beauty and astounding complexity of creation that surrounds us daily, we can more readily come away from the "bad news" of the next news cycle, and actually experience a calm, invigorated, and grateful assurance that, beneath the "madness" is a good world full of beauty and possibility.
Given lemons, make lemonade? It's not such bad advice, but I guess, in the process, we should also take a moment to enjoy the unique combination of flavors that only lemons provide. One of your best Caitlin. Thanks.
Thank you for this one especially. It's sorely needed.
Thanks, possibly the wisest writing I have come across this year! I would add that there is always hope, that one day everything will be put right in the world. I like to think those of us wishing for a better world are part of a multi-generational project to make things right in the world. The rising life expectancy and falling mortality and morbidity, the success of the socialist project in China and falling absolute poverty are all signs that a better world is ahead of us.
Yes, China gives me hope. I have a relative who is no longer with us tell me years and years ago that "China is the one to watch out for" in the context of an enemy. However, I think I'd like to think his ideas would have changed by now. What a wonderful civilization! They innovate, cultivate and build, while we stagnate, divide and destroy. And we have to sit on the sidelines and watch as it happens in front of our eyes. I try to see the beauty of the world every single day, but I can't escape the cold hard fact that I hate this fucking country.
Thank you Caitlin.
I try to consciously be aware that all humans are connected, even the ones I hate. I practice focusing on that connection and I choose to believe it's beautiful. So even if there are human-made horrors and depravity, even if people choose actions that go against all my morals and beliefs, for better and worse, this bond that exist between everyone (and, really, everything) allows me to feel a balance between good and evil. I think it's basically empathy.
(This is a coping mechanism like any other, but it's the one that has been working for me.)
Nice. But very, very hard to do.
My rage fueled anxiety/depression got really bad post October 2023 and I've only recently been able to "see" and "feel" things this way. So I agree with you, it's very, very hard, but not impossible.
I think one thing that shifted something in me was the acceptance that we all experience death. And that is only 1 thing we share, but a powerful one. Other things: we were all chidren at some point; we very likely all felt lonely at some point in our lives; we're all made of cells; etc. So then you tell yourself other things that every single human being can't escape from. Once you build (and feel) this list, you start to recognise (and feel) a sort of "bundle of things" (you can call it energy or whatever you prefer), and this bundle represents the connection I mentioned.
It's a bit metaphysical, I suppose... But it helps me.
Thanks.
I think I used to be more forgiving, until...well, you know.
But I'll try it. I certainly feel more connected to trees at this point!