At this time I am focused on practicing self care, love and building a community

[boston bean]

of people in my geographic circle who are of like minds to support one another.

This really is a good use of time and in its own way subversive in this moment and environment.

It is taking a lot of energy to try and remove myself from the way I usually would have reacted. But we are in a place where the usual tactics will not work.

One other thing I will be doing is spending nearly zero dollars on anything but food and gas and my normal household bills.

I will of course be checking into DU and spouting off when the moment calls to me.

Love you all after nearly 20 years, you are my online community and a steady rock throughout. Somehow we will make it through this. Do not let this sick man rob you of your happiness in your life.

[Walleye]

1. Age 75, I don't believe anything will get better in my lifetime

That is a depressing thought, but realistic

[boston bean]

2. It could walleye if you make your focus and circle smaller.

[Walleye]

3. Thanks for the advice, but if my circle gets any smaller, I'll disappear altogether

[boston bean]

4. Ha ha. I meant make it more local. Find nearby like minded people. Use them for support. Have some

Fun in life. Don’t let this mad man take that away from you. 💕💕💕

[Walleye]

5. That is an excellent idea, I am inspired by your post.

[boston bean]

7. These people want us to feel despair. To feel scared.

And there is probably good reason for us to feel that way. This is why I think it is subversive to not allow them to strip all of your happiness from us. That doesn’t mean our values or morals are unimportant to us. They are paramount. So we will continue them at this time with people who hold the same values dear.

That is how we keep our vision alive. How we keep ourselves alive to fight another day.

[Magoo48]

29. Yup. Life as a vale of tears is not for me either.

I’m gonna resist in as many way as possible for a 76 year old man, and I’m gonna have as much fun as I can while doing it. There are people here who support this pov, and my family and friends are like minded.
No Fascists
I do not like those assholes.

[Blue_Roses]

6. This!!!

[Katinfl]

14. Know exactly how you feel.

I am 77, husband is 78. I never really thought about it before last week, but now it is beginning to sink in. I would love to live long enough to see the demise of trump, but we are basically the same age so that is questionable. It’s been a rough week.

[Bumbles]

19. I'm 82, and have thought the same thing.

Instead, I'm going to reach for inspiration from that thought to outlive him and see our democracy rise from the ashes.

[Prairie Gates]

8. Agreed

Great post!

Outrage and constantly posting the various shenanigans and nonsense plays into the spectacle. We have to train ourselves to react differently.

[jfz9580m]

9. Agree with all this.nt

[mgardener]

10. This is the first site I look at each morning

I don't post much, but I appreciate all of you!
Thanks

[FailureToCommunicate]

11. Agree: "Do not let this sick man rob you of your happiness in your life."

Thanks.

[GP6971]

26. Hi Sunshine!! A new day and

more pizza.

[mercuryblues]

33. how sad is it that she has no friends

so she gets her thrill by doing this?

[Shrek]

12. Best wishes

I have enjoyed your posts.

[boston bean]

13. I am still around. And will be piping in. Probably more than I should.

This new focus is really hard to practice, I might have some failures. LOL

[Sympthsical]

15. Do what we can where we can

I sometimes wonder if social media create a problem because it makes it extremely easy to focus solely on macro issues while ignoring the local. You come home, you log on, and "What's happening in the wide world!" But at the end of the day, we only have so much individual power. We can vote, donate, volunteer for national causes. Whatever happens happens. There is only so much personal control we have.

But in our own lives - social, familial, professional, and community - we have a great deal of control over what kind of daily environment we want to live in. Good friends, good hobbies, good causes, good projects where we can tangibly reap the rewards our efforts earn.

I am loving my career change to nursing. Been doing clinicals in long-term care and rehab facilities. Absolutely loving it. Love interacting with the patients, being able to make their day better, interacting with them, trying to be a positive presence, trying to make their lives easier and improve their health where possible. And the benefits are tangible right away. You get that feedback, because we mutually become each other's best part of the day.

Yeah, there's rough spots. Tough cases, admins who you want to roll your eyes at every ten seconds, but it feels like I'm accomplishing useful things in the moment, every day, just by virtue of getting out there.

I wish for everyone to find something in their lives that gives that kind of feeling, no matter what it is. Where you can go do things and get that positive satisfaction regularly as feedback.

Generativity is an important component of human development as we get older.

[Luciferous]

16. This is my plan as well. Last time he

was President, I woke up with a pit in my stomach every morning worrying about what new nightmare he was unleashing on the country. I refuse to go through that again.

[PortTack]

17. My self care...everyday find something to blow the stink of t-rump off!

[Bumbles]

18. I'm also working on changing habits and finding ways to be more in the moment.

My poodle Daphne and cats, Beans and Bosco, are showing me the way.

I'll finish my dry stream bed before snow flies so it's a vision of peace and beauty when spring comes and the many hundreds of bulbs I planted in anticipation bring color to a previous gray winter landscape.

I'll read many of the books that I've set aside to get to someday. That day has come, and I will revel in turns of phrase, perspective, escape, and knowledge many will present.

I'm looking at headlines, but not investing hours in reading in depth the post-election analyses. Hardest of all, I'm not tuning in to Nicole, Rachel, and Lawrence. I will again, perhaps once the dust has cleared a bit. I'm finding other sources for information, which is broadening my reach, since our mainstream media rarely covers the rest of the globe, and much is going on in the rest of the world. Sadly, also not uplifting. So, I found a "good news" site for more positive feeling. If all else fails, cat and dog videos will always work to get unfunked. That's with an "n".

Onward!

[617Blue]

20. Only buy what you need, cancel social media - do not engage MAGA people.

[KatK]

21. Ditto!

Self-care is paramount because we're in this for the long haul.

Hyper-local community building is my focus.

During the pandemic, I tried to launch a Mutual Aid group here in this middle class mostly white neighborhood. It fell flat, with one homeowner commenting "I think we're all set here" (without an apparent thought that certainly everyone was NOT set).

So I started a Little Free Pantry, something that I could run by myself and which IS about community building and cohesion and connection. It relies on donations and so it does the the community a chance to work together.

Now in times that REALLY call for solidarity and mutual aid, I still don't think my neighbors are ready to organize much. So I have started a card-playing group, explicitly welcoming to all, as a first step. Next will be a Snow Shovel Brigade. And along the way, I hope to connect with like-minded folk who see that we have to rally together to withstand the coming force.

Really appreciate DU for so many reasons!

[BlueSky3]

22. When my kids were small and

fighting in the back seat on the long trip to see my MIL, we stopped at a convenience store. The man behind the counter, who looked and sounded like Rafael Warnock, saw the looks on our faces and said, “Don’t let the devil steal your joy”.

I’m remembering that now, as I refuse to watch TV news and only skim the headlines. I’m in my 70s and am concentrating on things that add positive value to life. That will include contributing to Dem causes/candidates and just living my life the best I can.

[PunkinPi]

23. If MVP Harris' campaign taught folks anything...

it's that joy is a strategy. Don't let anyone take that from you.

[c-rational]

25. Thank you for this post boston bean, especially the last paragraph. It helps.

[Scrivener7]

27. As usual, you post words I need to hear. Love you, my dear!

[boston bean]

32. Luv ya right back! 💕

[Clouds Passing]

28. I like your thinking bb.

There are too many headlines here of Dump & Co. They are too triggering and depressing. I may give up all news in the next few weeks or months. Did that for a long time after 2016, only to return after Joe stepped aside.

We all must stick together. We must live our lives in sane ways. That brings happiness.

[HoosierDebbie]

30. I so appreciate this OP

Thanks for your words of advice. The election has traumatized me like the strike of a taser, painfully jolting me into nearly a catatonic state. I am trying to shake it off, slowly rising back up and clenching my fists to prepare for the impending fight. I have come to realize that I can neither fight all of my enemies nor defend all of my causes. I don't have the energy or life space anymore. I can not again survive the all-encompassing agony of my past rejection of everything MAGA. It drained my life force.

The Biden years helped revive me, only to pass too quickly. How can I fight the fight and still have some aspects of life to enjoy? I think maybe the best I can do is to pick a cause to defend. Women's rights? Immigrant defense? Children's education? This way I could stop my total descension into the hellhole of life ruled by MAGA. I may impose a daily time limit of reading and watching news, concentrating on how I might most effectively soldier on with my own actions and limited money to contribute.

My ability to DO ANYTHING is minimal, but the irritation of one tiny thorn amongst many can help take down a giant opponent.

I must also pledge to help myself. Enjoy my life in some respects. Love my tiny ring of like-minded family. Find a friend or two. Cherish my cats. Pursue my positive and fun interests. Try to live.

[Keepthesoulalive]

31. We have a strong democratic community

We are starting to focus on getting rid of Youngkin. I am glad to see more people on DU getting rid , Facebook , twitter, msnbc and the traditional print media. We have to find and support new ways of getting information. This election gave us the push we needed to make that change. I refuse to get wrapped up in this man’s crazy making . I will fight locally and be very discerning about which media I support.