Things Are Crazy, But I Refuse to Despair

Nature is another way to help deal with despair from the craziness

We live in a crazy world. Wars and rumors of wars. Catastrophic weather events and fires. People on the streets protesting the shooting of a peaceful protester and the invasion of cities rounding up and deporting people because of the color of their skin. The wealthy getting wealthier and the poor getting poorer.

Being retired, I have too much time for doom scrolling on social media. It is a habit that is hard to combat, and it can lead to despair. I know many friends and colleagues who express similar emotions because of the crazy times we live in. We wish for all to live in abundance and peace.

Henri Nouwen reminds us in his book With Burning Hearts that, "The more we see the injustice of the world, the more we are tempted to use our own power to bring about justice, but in so doing we often create new forms of injustice." It becomes a vicious cycle which leads to even more despair.

Despite the craziness, I refuse to succumb to the angst and despair all around us. I have found a way to keep me grounded and sane. A simple spiritual exercise that I learned during my spiritual direction training is called the "Consciousness Examen." I use it to dispel the dark clouds that tend to gather when I am exposed to too much doom scrolling. I simply look back upon the day, or the week, and ask my self: "Where have I experienced God?", or where have I been distracted from experiencing God?

So here I list my God experiences just today:

• The smile and jokes of the Russian garage mechanic as he greeted me at the door to receive the key for my car repair. 
• The welcoming smile of the barista at my favorite coffee shop who knows my order and my name. 
• The smile of the woman with four kids who came into the cafe struggling with her youngest, and the warmth that came over her whole being as I gave her a blessing when I left.
• The hugs I got from my two granddaughters who we were minding for the afternoon, and the mischievous grin of one of them when she played a trick on me.
• Solving a challenging New York times Sunday crossword without the help of the answer key, only the second of which I was able to do, out of 40 so far.
• The concern shown by the assistant at the garage where I picked up my car because of how much it cost, and the chuckle from her when I quipped that I bet they were glad they wouldn't have to see that car again. I had to take it back for the third time today until they finally figured out what was wrong.
• The waiter at a local restaurant who saved my credit card that I had left behind several days before and for which I had searched diligently without success, along with the beam on her face when I wished her God's blessing. 
• The Email we received from our church citing progress on our movement forward during a time of transition. 
• The receipt I received in the mail for our giving to a mission effort in Europe. 
• The gourmet meal Esther prepared for us out of a number of leftovers.
• The message exchanges with my siblings dealing memories of a wonderful childhood. 

This was only in the past 12 hours. I can recall countless moments in the past days and weeks. Perhaps you find my musings trivial. Perhaps they don't add up to God moments for you. Nevertheless, they provide for me a way to make me feel better emotionally and spiritually, and to help me to mitigate my despair from the craziness of the world.

Do have ways to deal with the craziness, or do you succumb to despair?