RE: Something Feels Really WRONG About the World...
I tend to avoid the best I can with interacting with the public. I get rather a strong feeling in regards to others peoples “energy.” Whether it be an emotional state or something I just can’t describe but I do understand that feeling you are having with people in your art gallery. I have noticed for many years now and I have no clue how many that something is “off.”
A few years back when I had to take notes on a public speech for a class I attended a church service since we only had a week total for the assignment and my local government officials postponed a meeting I was hoping to attend.
In there I got a chance before the service started to talk with one of its members and make sure it was ok with them with what I needed to do with my assignment. I shacked the guy's hand and my knees nearly gave out. I have not been a spiritual believer in quite a many years but that man had a very powerful positive energy about him.
I sometimes also get very sickening feels around people as well. Had a clearly homeless drug addict once knock on the door begging for “food” money. Not only did I not believe him I refused to answer the door the next time he was around months later. He even went around looking into the windows for a while before leaving. I made it clear with a tv and lights that someone must be in the house and didn’t answer the door. This is just an extreme case, the same thing happens once very rare occasions when I’m at a store and I just have to get as far away from whatever I’m feeling in a row over.
The world has felt off tilt for a number of years. People seem no longer able to stand straight anymore. You get up and you just fall back over, you take a step and you trip. Everything going great for you then you get very terrible news about something near you.
It’s almost like you recover from something then, just as you almost get back to that same point beforehand something else happens. Like on days of the feeling of “normalize” and something bad happens out there in the world hours later.
All in all we just have to focus on the positive things and move forward in life the best we can. We can’t let instances like these make us afraid or control our daily lives. That gives the wrong kind of people power in this world. The kind that makes them goes out and keep doing such evil things over and over. It is always disheartening when copycats start showing up because of how much media coverage events like this gets.
As far as this sad event. I actually wanted and tried to go to bed early that night. I just could not no matter how much I tried and how much my body needed that extra a sleep. After a few hours, I gave up and turned the computer back on to try and get some work done. After a while, I found out about it and was unable to get anything further done or even sleep. I had a very sick feeling far worse than most times when I find out the first details on a still active event.
While I do love logic and I wish more of it was in my everyday life. There just is not any when it comes to things like these or that “off” feeling we have prior to something sad. I also think for most part if it was not for that event to trigger us into remembering an "off" feeling stronger then what it was and into the days to come after that. It just seems to be our human nature to become very tunnel vision when it comes to a single feelings over others even if it was the weaker one as we try and sort out the worlds madness.
Whenever I start analyzing disturbing events and then looking at life in the greater sense... I always keep coming back to the classic "frog in boiling water" analogy... in a number of ways, we keep thinking we're OK, and that we're "dealing with it" and that "everything will be fine."
Many people avoid looking directly at an assortment of truths... ranging from their own lives ("dealing with" having to work 65 hours a week in two jobs to make ends meet and resigning themselves to "having no choice") to greater societal life where so-called "experts" spin the statistics to make us feel like things are actually better than they are: "The Economy" is strong; "Unemployment is lower" and so forth. True statements, in an absolute sense... yet filled with holes and lies.
Case in point, yesterday I got a little card in the mail from the county, saying that our property values had been increased about 6% since last year. Which will result in a 6% increase in our property taxes next year. Last month, out homeowner's insurance expired... and renewed. "Your monthly payment will change from $99.12 to $107.14, effective with the next cycle."
And yet the government says that "inflation is less than 2%." In the meantime, my income is the same as last year and unlikely to increase... because of rising expenses.
The math doesn't add up.
But somehow I have to come up with $200 more for next year's expenses... and from where I am sitting, my option is to add enough work time to my existing schedule to make $200 more.
Now multiple by millions of times around this country and others... and we can detect a growing background atmosphere of "quiet desperation," and then we have these horrible events happen and people sit around analyze till they are blue in the face; overlooking the fact that more and more people are quietly reaching their "breaking points."
It’s why I been avoiding the best I can to read about possible tax reform. Like everyone I need it, and much sooner then I expect them to get something out. Doubtful by the time they are done playing favorites with lobbyist it will be anything worthwhile for the little guy. Which will just get tossed onto the log pile of “thanks for spending tax payers money on this.”
I’ve reduced and gone without quite a few things trying to keep up with rapid cost of society. I think you hit it right in the middle “breaking point.” That would explain a lot people around me. Far too many people either never had an emergency fund or it’s been depleted over the years without any ability to refund it. They are just one minor bump in the road away from giving up for good.
We actually had a contingency fund till my wife needed rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders within an 18-month period. In spite of the fact we HAD insurance, we still ended up some $24,000 out-of-pocket... which drained all reserves, killed an old IRA and but a balance on a couple of credit cards. That was 2011... we've been playing "catch up" ever since... unsuccessfully.
That is a sad example of what causes many to spiral out of financial control. I hope you were able to deduct some of the expenses from taxes for those years at least.
Enjar, it sounds like you have the amazing "gift of discernment".