Disbelief

How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?

I can’t believe how this world has de-evolved during my lifetime. How childish, unkind, and violent it has become. I find myself wondering whether it was a nicer world, or without social media you were able to be more discerning about the people you spend time with.

Limiting human contact to only those who you get on with will certainly help to make the personal world a better place.

The Media

Thanks to television we know more about more of the world, so I also know that the kind and peaceful world I was raised in wasn’t the whole truth. It was a beautiful world though for the first six years.

People

My family imploded when I was 7. The adults of my grandmother’s generation tore the family apart. My mother’s generation was the same if not far worse. My generation just scattered, often away from their parents as well.

In life I’ve found that few people know how to have a positive relationship. Naturally with my background I wasn’t one of them, but I learned to be a better person.

Once my feet found this path, and Keith introduced me to a range of thinkers that helped me rebuild my mind, I set the intention to be a respectfully honest and positive force for those around me, and anyone else I could reach. I’ve kept my word to myself and the people I met.

As I’m not sure that emotionally there is ever a truth, feelings and life training masquerade as truth a lot of the time, I’m not that big on pretending I’m right or knowing what’s going on. There are so many lies out there in all walks of life.

However, one of the things that life has taught me is to make sure that the people you choose to be with create a comfortable environment for you all. You do need to get on, not be the same, how boring, but like and love each other enough to allow and even embrace the differences.

Social media

I’m only on there because I have genuine friends and people who have supported my work for years. Apart from that I’d eradicate it.

It’s destroying attention spans (short reels and Toxic TikTok). It’s bringing far too much spite and disinformation into our lives. It’s allowing the unethical to have an unedited voice.

Finding the ‘truth’

Always supposing it exists. If you ever hear a person speak who can present both sides of an argument, come to a conclusion, and share their research material with you – them you take into consideration. Virologists didn’t agree, but at least they were in the field. Make sure the person is an expert in what they’re actually talking about.

In many cases historians are the best people when it comes to world affairs. One of my old professors is an expert on Muslim history and his viewpoint is quite different from anything you will read in the media. He taught us that history is about understanding how we got where we are, and applying those lessons to predict the future. Never dismiss history, if you understand the lead up to WWII you’ll be very worried right now. Same pattern different idiots.

Disbelief?

My main area of disbelief is that humanity is such a cesspool of unkindness mitigated by a smaller but vital number of people who can listen and discuss.

You only have to be on social media and encounter the trolls to know that. Viciousness doesn’t begin to describe it.

The streets of our cities are no longer safe in the UK. Nowhere near as bad as many places, we’re still very fortunate. But even so, two teenagers murdered a transgender girl for fun. They planned it very carefully then stabbed her over 20 times. Two young men chased another and attacked him from behind with machetes, case of mistaken identity which wouldn’t have happened if they’d at least had the courage to face him.

This happens daily now. We have gangs. Unsafe zones. I am in disbelief at what humanity is showing us.

However

Each and every decent person I meet means ten times more nowadays, and the good, caring, kind, authentic, honest people fill me with awe.

As with all things, darkness makes the sun shine brighter.

Let’s band together and do our best to avoid the others.

Keep our faces to the sun and be what the world needs. Hope.

Life has taught me how much hope may ordinary and extraordinary people bring in every walk of life.

I may be in disbelief, but there is so much good to stop me slipping into despair.

Never get so cynical that you can’t see the light.

Deb xx