Do unto othersÄoing something for someone else is my all time high - it always lifts me. I see more of them this way! -Naomi Krokowski, Berthoud, Colo. The car, my brain, goes where my eyes go - so I need to keep looking at hopeful art and look for joy in the children I love and remind myself to keep watching for good things. I remind myself, as the book states, "The car goes where your eyes go." It's so important, especially as the news cycle is full of cruelty and suffering, for us to carefully choose what we read, listen to, pay attention to. One of my favorite books is Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain. When the world won't change for us, sometimes changing how we think about the world is the best we can do. Difficult situations often remain difficult, but it does make it easier to weather the suffering. I employ what I refer to as "delusional optimism," which involves telling myself things like, "It's going to be just fine!" or "You've been through much worse!" or "Tomorrow won't feel this bad." The words I tell myself don't change the behavior of others. So when I feel hopeless or sad or overwhelmed, I can think, "I am going to fully let myself feel this because this is what hopelessness feels like, what millions of others have felt, going back millennia." Ironically, framing it this way actually feels more connected, more human, more manageable. I am Buddhist and there is a meditation that helps me: You elect to feel hopelessness or lovelessness as a way of empathizing with others who feel these things. (For the record, I hope salmon make it.) - Andrew Murphy, Crescent City, Calif. It seems less critical to save them (and every other species) knowing that all species will one day share the same fate. With that perspective, it puts me more at peace that, for example, salmon may go extinct in my lifetime. This may sound cynical but I am being earnest: What gives me peace of mind when gloom is looming is to remember that in 5 billion years, the sun will become a red giant and Earth will cease to exist. The fact that things were different once means that society need not work as it does now, which I think is quite the empowering thought. On the other hand, we see dramatic change over time and across cultures regarding everything from the role of women to which professions hold prestige to how life should be lived to how people dress. There has been so much oppression in so many ways since more or less the dawn of agriculture. I majored in history, which can be a rather depressing subject. Godoy (Pleaded guilty to his role as a lookout and serving a prison sentence at Roxbury Correctional Institution for murder) I live today with a renewed optimism and faith, believing and striving towards a brighter tomorrow. It is better to help than to point fingers it is better to encourage than to find fault. I have learned that humility is an inward action manifested outwardly for the benefit of others. My mother has taught me that humility in servitude of others, can be a soothing balm to a hurting heart. It is this powerful human emotion which allows me to see in the darkest hour. Her unwavering faith in God, her unbroken resilience and fighting spirit to see me prison-free, strengthens my heart. What keeps me motivated with optimism is the genuine love from my mother, Diana. At times, it seems impossible to overcome these emotional barriers. The longer you spend in prison, the less hopeful and optimistic you become. I have spent over 25 years in prison, more than half my life. Oh, I can get as negative and as angry as the next person, but I try not to stay there long. I try to be observant of God's workings in my life and to be aware of His many blessing. It's little things that cause that inward smile, like the cloud that swirls up from cream being poured into a hot cup of coffee. it makes my day." I guess I was smiling without even realizing it and had no idea how simple smiles can affect other people for the better. One of the cashiers (whom I didn't know from Eve) let out a loud "Welcome back!" and added, "I love how every time you come in our store, you're smiling. But several years ago, I walked into a hardware store that I hadn't been to in a long time. I feel like I'm in a chronic state of despair over the various bad situations all over the planet, with my personal struggles on top of them. Haven't you ever glanced across a room, caught someone's eye and shared a smile with a total stranger over a funny incident? It's understanding the human condition. It connects us to our loved ones but even brings us closer to strangers. I don't think I could live in this world without humor.
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