How Do You Make Things Better?

An Idea on How to Stay Sane

Hey Friends

It’s been… a year. From local to global, from personal challenges to horrific news to the continued assault on everything from empathy to decency, it’s been one for the history books.

Like a lot of you, I’ve felt frustrated and paralyzed, wondering how or even IF I could make things better. Post on social media? The count of people whose minds have been changed by a thoughtful, well-reasoned post still stands proudly at 0. Plus you add in the algorithms then you’re going to get trolled by bots and bad actors if there’s even a hint of controversy or politics in your post.

Anger and fear makes money. It makes the most money, and is the easiest to monetize. So a controversial political post will get seen 1000x more than a plug for your book or podcast. Everything else gets throttled, because if YOU’RE making money, then they aren’t, and they don’t really like that.

So what can you do? First and foremost, don’t give in to despair. “there’s nothing I can do”. But now I’m going to say something “controversial”. Don’t be afraid or angry all the time. I know, crazy, right? That’s what they want. Unplug. Ignore the news for a bit. Watch an old movie. Reset. Recharge your soul battery.

I’m not saying be completely disengaged. One if the issues now is that we’re heading towards the binary: 0 or 1. If you’re not angry all the time, you’re not engaged. If you don’t know what’s going on, you’re not angry enough, etc. You can be both. You can be engaged, vote, volunteer, give money to good causes that help people and protect our environment and democracy, and at the same time also not drive yourself insane.

Good people in your life want you happy, healthy, and secure. Bad people in your life want you afraid and fearful. And that includes what you consume, whether it’s a podcast, a news program, or one of your idiot friends at the bar when they run their mouth.

I’m going to give a super-nerdy reference here. I grew up on D&D and Dragonlance novels. One of the philosophies of good and evil they had always stuck with me. Good expands. Evil turns in on itself. It couldn’t be more true. Good expands when you do good deeds and help people, and look out for those less fortunate. Good expands, encompasses all, and rises the fortunes of everyone it touches. Evil looks out for itself, even when it has allies, they will eventually turn on each other, as evil only ever selfishly serves one master: itself.

So do good, expand the field, and bask in its warmth. The smallest act of compassion and kindness reverberates. Keep your hope and your optimism, because that’s exactly what they don’t want. Be well and I wish you peace and joy this holiday season.

—Chris Mancini