I'm so sorry --it sounds as though you've been hit by one bad thing after another and it just all snowballs up into an avalanche of bad news and worse situations. You sound as if you're exhausted by it all... and I think you have every reason to feel that way.

Our news so often focuses on the bad -- but studying history has given me hope for the future.

There are lots of warriors out there pushing back against fate and ugliness, teaching and mending and changing things. I've seen so much change over my lifetime (from rivers here in America that caught fire from pollutants and water that was so toxic you couldn't fish in it -- to ordinary people turning warrior and changing that.)

We are the Clever Apes. We do a lot of stupid and destructive stuff, but we do many amazing things. I have hope for us.

I wish I had your optimism. I feel so powerless. I hate that feeling.

Isolation and depression kills optimism, and we've been isolated with depressing news for quite a long time. I have no easy answers; I escape via gaming or by other activities because if I focused on the news and on evil things, I'd never recover my optimism.

If we could both get to conventions, I'd buy you a coffee and we could sit somewhere and talk about things and then go out and walk the streets and look for quaint and curious signage and business names and pretend we're shopping for something silly.

You're so sweet, Mel. Thanks for being my furiend

Why worry about things outside of your control? Seems like a way to cause unneeded stress to yourself.

the only thing I could say is that that title of a movie of Stanley Kubric is comforting... you know... "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"

curiously all people are furries because we are animals in any kind of sense, we don't care of what is truly important. The only thing they think is to accomplish their egoist purposes. So, there are 3 ways to choose:

- living care free
- prepare for the moment, but not getting obsesed and mock to them when the time comes
- becoming a powerful politician and trying to fix it from inside... honestly it is the worst and hardest way...

I lived long time getting angry because people of my country sometimes is dumb and envy; but I learned I can't and I'll never be able to change them, so, now I try to enjoy in, I give time to my fantasies about Mind Control and I listen music and watch some movies... I see problems with the story of Soul, I think it has fails in argument, but it is a really touching movie

Cheer up bear! we can't stop the unevitable, so let's chill and enjoy the today!

thanks, roody

you're welcome!