Hello,
I'm Mervi Eskelinen!
An artist, nerd and sorcerer, dedicated to make world softer and better for everyone, and to get you to make more art. Make art, change the world!
Do not despair
All of this, the climate change, fascism, llm bullshit, greed and all, is making good people feel hopeless and exhausted. You see social media and blog posts by people who feel all hope is lost and there's nothing to do. The despair understandable, yet something to get over with.
The despair is by design. All the doom and gloom and mixed messages make you exhausted and confused. The more exhausted and confused you are, the more likely you are to comply. This is an age old way to control people, to make you malleable and easy to manipulate.
You will start feeling they have already won. So what's the point even? And there, you have given up before the real battle has even started. You are meant to quit fighting back, organising, protesting and voting for the opposition. You are also meant to give up caring.
Good thing here is, you can choose to not despair and to keep your hope and empathy. It's your choice. I'd also like to give you some simple ways to fight the apathy and make this world better for everyone, little by little.
Rest and recharge
Rest is important. You cannot keep fighting 24/7. Continuous stress is bad for your health. It doesn't mean you should completely give the fight up. It just means you need to take breaks and build your resilience.
You cannot fix things alone and immediately. You can be part of the solution.
Take all the moments you can to recharge and refocus. Find what makes you relax and feel good, something simple and easy to access preferably. Something that's just for you, no need to share it with the world. It could be reading something fun, watching movies and series you like, doodling, doing your hair or make-up, journaling or writing poetry, doing physical exercise, listening music or whatever to charge your batteries.
Feeling FOMO? Remember: You aren't missing out anything. You are living a life.
Build your empathy
Giving up caring is easy. That's why the powerful people attack your empathy. Inhumanasing certain groups of people, making it seem like your rights and livelihood are under attack by the others and
I have written before about how to keep caring in a world full of it, but basically it is all about exercising your empathy. Empathy, just like your muscles, needs to be exercised a bit.
Connect with other people, read and watch and listen fiction, learn about other cultures and other ways of living and being, make and experience art, challenge your preconceptions and question stereotypes.
Participate in something good
You cannot fix everything by yourself. But you can participate in fixing things. Participate in something that makes you feel you are doing something good.
Join a group, movement or political party which works for improving things, donate to a good cause, volunteer, help someone. Participate in community building and improving your immediate surroundings. Pick up the trash on your path and drop it in a trashcan.
Make one small, but a bit more sustainable choice today. Eat less meat, skip using that AI chatbot, or think if you actually need that new t-shirt.
Speak up when you see something bad happening. Stand with someone who is being bullied.
Practise meditation
Meditation is a great way to relax, destress, refocus and remind yourself that you aren't missing out. It can help you to change your relationship with your thoughts and feelings, build your empathy and find peace in this moment as it is.
In meditation you direct your focus on one thing, your breathing, how your body feels, a mantra (or affirmation), a mental or real image, sounds or some other object and just observe. When thoughts and feelings arise, observe them briefly before letting them go. Don't push them away. Just observe and let go.
You can also try adding simple labels to thoughts and feelings, such as "memory", "anticipation" or "frustration", before letting them go. See if observing an emotion without engaging with it makes it less powerful.
It's okay, if you get lost in thought. It happens. No need to be frustrated or judge the thoughts and feelings. Just take a note of the thought or the feeling, observe it briefly and redirect your focus back to your chosen object. Simple as that!
If you need some help and guidance in how to meditate and how to keep meditating regularly, I recommend Medito app. Medito has helped me to build a daily meditation habit.
And remember, you won't be a meditation guru after one session, or even several years of daily meditation. Give it time!
Create joy, enjoyment and contentment
One thing those miserable conrolling despots really really want is everyone else to be miserable too. They hate joy, they hate enjoyment. They hate to see you happy and laughing. The doom, gloom and despair are their way of being and they want you to be like that too. Your choice is to not give into it.
One way to not give into misery is to create joy. Care and actively participate. Make art, create community. Make things fun and cause laughter and enjoyment. Spread joy, drown the hatred and misery in it. Keep being curious and fascinated.
Remind yourself that life is a weird, fascinating and glorious thing. So random, so absolutely ridiculously funny. It is to be celebrated.
This is a reader supported blog without paywalls and advertisement. If you appreciate my work and want to help me rewild the internet, please consider becoming a free or paid patron today. I can't do this without the support of readers like you. So if you can to contribute financially, I would really appreciate your help.
