What gives you hope?

[AllardChardon]

With the floods and the fires raging across our nation, the economy with the collasping housing market and rising gas prices, what gives you hope?

My youth was full of hope and as the years have tumbled by, the wish for a brighter future has waned a bit. I try to keep a positive attitude and pray for the best, but it can be a daunting enterprise to keep one's chin up in times like these.

Anyone have a good recipe for hope?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

With the floods and the fires raging across our nation, the economy with the collasping housing market and rising gas prices, what gives you hope?

My youth was full of hope and as the years have tumbled by, the wish for a brighter future has waned a bit. I try to keep a positive attitude and pray for the best, but it can be a daunting enterprise to keep one's chin up in times like these.

Anyone have a good recipe for hope?

I read somewhere that there is an Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Fear the Worst for the Worst Never Happens.

And it seems to be generally true. In spite of Rob's gloomy predictions, a good look at history shows that we've been through much worse. Anyone who thinks that today is bad doesn't remember the late '60's.

old Vietnam era vet,

 

[cloudy]

When I can see things through the eyes of my children, it renews my hope. I think adults forget to play, sometimes even forget how.

We build with legos, play video games, and sometimes I even get down in the floor, and play with his action figures with him (spiderman, mostly - I've been known to make Carnage dance ballet ). My favorite, though, is building roads in the backyard with spoons for the hotwheel cars. You forget yourself for awhile when you do that...recapture a small bit of your own childhood.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

When I can see things through the eyes of my children, it renews my hope. I think adults forget to play, sometimes even forget how.

We build with legos, play video games, and sometimes I even get down in the floor, and play with his action figures with him (spiderman, mostly - I've been known to make Carnage dance ballet ). My favorite, though, is building roads in the backyard with spoons for the hotwheel cars. You forget yourself for awhile when you do that...recapture a small bit of your own childhood.

Good point. Perhaps my generally sunny outlook is based on the fact that I live in a world of children . . .

 

[rgraham666]

I no longer have much hope.

I replace it with grit. I'm not going to give up.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I no longer have much hope.

I replace it with grit. I'm not going to give up.

That'll work, too. I like stubborn. The only reason this AV is a bear is because I couldn't find a badger!

 

[Recidiva]

Humans give me hope.

In reading history, there are horrors and ignorance and tragedy.

And then there's grace and wisdom and beauty.

I remind myself that my lack of imagination would have left me in a cave afraid of the outside.

But others have shown me the way.

 

[desertslave]

Not to steal from cloudy, but my kids are my hope. They're teens, now, on the verge of being ready to shape their own worlds. They understand far more than I sometimes give them credit for. They're passionate about what they believe in but have a amazingly grounding touch of cynicism, too. My son's deepest desire is to be a philanthropist--after he makes his money designing video games. My daughter wants to be an actress, but she already understands that some entertainers can garner the ability and credibility to make a difference simply by being who they are.

I want to live long enough to see them come into their own. What a great ride!

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

The long view. It's a flaw that humans only think in terms of our lifetimes, if an understandable one. Extend your horizon a few thousand years and it's perfectly plausible to imagine a world where every human lives in unimagined affluence and security, where conflicts resemble Internet flame wars and Olympic blood doping scandals more than Verdun or Somalia, while huge multi-generation spaceships are taking some of us to colonize the stars.

 

[AllardChardon]

This is good. I remember my days of Legos and hot wheels. I am between children and grandchildren, so planting seeds in my garden and watching my veggies grow is fulfilling the nurturing front, only difference is I do eat the veggies after I harvest them.

Grit works well too, and stubborness.

And finding the beauty in humanity. It is truly there. Nelson Mandela had his birthday yesterday and if he has hope, which he does, like the Dalai Lama, who am I to question?

I am putting on my Pollyana outfit and going to find the silver lining in the clouds.

 

[Recidiva]

This is good. I remember my days of Legos and hot wheels. I am between children and grandchildren, so planting seeds in my garden and watching my veggies grow is fulfilling the nurturing front, only difference is I do eat the veggies after I harvest them.

Grit works well too, and stubborness.

And finding the beauty in humanity. It is truly there. Nelson Mandela had his birthday yesterday and if he has hope, which he does, like the Dalai Lama, who am I to question?

I am putting on my Pollyana outfit and going to find the silver lining in the clouds.

Yay!

The bad stuff always finds you.

You have to go find the good stuff, or create it yourself.

Fortunately that's possible. Good is not a myth

 

[Nirvanadragones]

Meaning. Life has meaning, regardless of how much hurt and pain there is. There will always be meaning. It's not only about what I learn (although that is part of it) It's about being touched, and being affected, really experiencing the process along the road, finding true beauty, seeing it, and sharing it. (Not traditional beauty, but my definition of it. )

 

[cloudy]

Nelson Mandela had his birthday yesterday and if he has hope, which he does, like the Dalai Lama, who am I to question?

That was probably just the celebration. He and I share a birthday - July 18.

 

[rengadeirishman]

With the floods and the fires raging across our nation, the economy with the collasping housing market and rising gas prices, what gives you hope?

My youth was full of hope and as the years have tumbled by, the wish for a brighter future has waned a bit. I try to keep a positive attitude and pray for the best, but it can be a daunting enterprise to keep one's chin up in times like these.

Anyone have a good recipe for hope?

Ingredients

6 2/3 pounds dark malt extract

1 pound crystal malt (40L)

1 pound roasted barley

1/2 pound chocolate malt

1/2 malto-dextrin powder

1 1/2 ounces Bullion hops (bittering)

1 ounce Irish ale yeast

1 1/4 cup dry malt extract for priming


Procedure

Place crushed crystal malt, roasted barley and chocolate malt in water and steep at 155 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove spent grains and add malt extract, malto-dextrin and Bullion hops.

Boil for 1 hour.

Cool wort and pitch yeast.

Ferment for 10 to 14 days.

Bottle using dry malt extract.

Age for 7 to 10 days

 

[JagFarlane]

With the floods and the fires raging across our nation, the economy with the collasping housing market and rising gas prices, what gives you hope?

My youth was full of hope and as the years have tumbled by, the wish for a brighter future has waned a bit. I try to keep a positive attitude and pray for the best, but it can be a daunting enterprise to keep one's chin up in times like these.

Anyone have a good recipe for hope?

Knowledge.

Floods and fires have always raged on in this country. Just about every year you hear about wildfires in California. People panic about this, but the truth its, its natures cycle. Yes people lose homes, and yes there is loss of life and tragedy. But they always occur and each year we learn something new about being prepared for the fires.

Floods occur often too, I still recall floods occurring on the Mississippi River banks prior to this, it isn't new. Its part of the cycle. Floods bring soil deposits from the riverbank onto the shore, bringing new nutrients.

Housing market...if you actually watched the market, you knew this was going to happen. There is always a ceiling, eventually people max out their credit, over-reach and this type of thing occurs. Its a natural part of the market that happens in order to keep the prices of houses in check. Otherwise, if it kept happening, the price would go so insanely high, that almost no one could afford it.

Stock market. If you're a savvy investor, then you know the market is going to have its down periods. Not too long ago, one financial officer, during a meeting pulled up a group of headlines you would see these days. As people nodded, noting that those things were going on, the last slide simply stated "All of these headlines are from 91-92". This always occurs, its a safe check within the market to keep the stock market crash of '29 from happening again. The stock market has done this before, in the 70's, the 80's, the 90's, and 2001. Yes, there were different things that caused it to happen, but you understand its a natural cycle of the market. Hell a bear market is sometimes an outstanding time to be an investor. As its been said, a bear market is where the "kid" investors run away scared, and the real investors come to play. Just look at Warren Buffet, last month he went to Europe, 250 million dollars in hand, to invest in companies. Why? Because now a lot of good companies are undervalued. If you're savvy enough, you can find a good, undervalued company that will survive the bear market and return to normal figures in a couple years. Its just being patient and knowledgeable about the markets.

Rising gas prices. If you didn't see this coming, sheesh, the signs were all over. Just look at the massive popularity of homes that cost $1,000 a month to heat, or SUVs that drink 40-50 gallons of gas a tank, and you wouldn't be so surprised. Unfortunately a lot of people didn't head the for warnings of post-Katrina prices, where they skyrocketed due to the supplies. People just kept buying massive houses and huge SUVs. Some, yes, I understand needing a large house and a large vehicle due to large families [and of course, understand those whose favorite activities and jobs require SUVs and trucks]. The average person didn't need them, though. And that drove up consumption like crazy, whilst you watched as India and China picked up their consumption.

Finally, all is not bad in the world. Yes, there are other countries struggling, yet, if you watch the world, some are actually booming. A good example is Brazil, whose agriculture is picking up along with the massive oil deposit discoveries off their coast. Another country to watch is Iraq, where slowly negotiations are being made with warlords and bringing stability to the region. Just last week it was pointed out that Iraq only produces about 500,000 barrels of oil a day. Iraq sits on top of the worlds 4th largest oil deposits. Between negotiations with the large oil producers and recent negotiations with one of the major warlords, its hoped within a few years Iraq will be producing 5+ million barrels a day.

Its really just a matter of patience and watching, listening and learning. Things will right themselves, and these days most investors expecting that to occur possibly as early as mid-2009, perhaps as late as early 2010. Yes, that seems so far away, but years do pass quickly. Ask any parent watching their baby go from cute baby to stubborn teen.

 

[Varian P]

This passage on Camus pretty well sums it up for me:

In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man's futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternity. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: "No. It requires revolt." He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. The final chapter compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

The hope is in hoping, in working toward something, however ephemeral the success.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

I read somewhere that there is an Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Fear the Worst for the Worst Never Happens.

And it seems to be generally true. In spite of Rob's gloomy predictions, a good look at history shows that we've been through much worse. Anyone who thinks that today is bad doesn't remember the late '60's.

old Vietnam era vet,

And anyone who thinks the late '60s were bad doesn't remember 1939-45. And anyone who thinks that was bad has forgotten 1914-1918. And anyone who thinks that was bad forgets the 30 Year War. And who thinks that was bad forgets the Mongol invasions.

You want bad? You're the resident of a Khwarezmian city in 1230 and the Mongols have pitched a big black tent in front of the gates - the indication that every man, woman, child, dog, cat and gerbil is going to murdered by swords and spears - many after providing a little "fun" for the boys - and there's not a damned thing you can do about it.

Housing prices? Stock market declines? Let's get serious. How about the Black Death, for goodness sake, or the Holacaust. We not only have it incredibly good, most of us don't have a clue about just how good we have it.

Sorry for ranting. This is certainly not targeted at V.M. or anyone else here. I'm just venting my general frustration with the lack of historical perspective that is so characteristic today.

 

[Recidiva]

This passage on Camus pretty well sums it up for me:

In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man's futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternity. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: "No. It requires revolt." He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. The final chapter compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

The hope is in hoping, in working toward something, however ephemeral the success.

This is true.

In combination with Nirvana's post regarding meaning...

I did pass through a very dark valley after a death of a close family member. Where my recurrent thought was "None of this means anything..."

After a while the thought turned to the same words but a different tone "None of this means anything!"

Which meant I could assign my own meaning and start having some fun.

It's a zen absurdist sort of life, and it suits me.

That, and some cloudy thoughts. My kids mean everything because they teach me that when you don't know much, it's important to have people around who know they don't know, rather than those who are sure.

 

[rgraham666]

Maybe if hope didn't hurt I'd embrace it more closely.

 

[Varian P]

And anyone who thinks the late '60s were bad doesn't remember 1939-45. And anyone who thinks that was bad has forgotten 1914-1918. And anyone who thinks that was bad forgets the 30 Year War. And who thinks that was bad forgets the Mongol invasions.

You want bad? You're the resident of a Khwarezmian city in 1230 and the Mongols have pitched a big black tent in front of the gates - the indication that every man, woman, child, dog, cat and gerbil is going to murdered by swords and spears - many after providing a little "fun" for the boys - and there's not a damned thing you can do about it.

Housing prices? Stock market declines? Let's get serious. How about the Black Death, for goodness sake, or the Holacaust. We not only have it incredibly good, most of us don't have a clue about just how good we have it.

Sorry for ranting. This is certainly not targeted at V.M. or anyone else here. I'm just venting my general frustration with the lack of historical perspective that is so characteristic today.

That depends on whether one is saying, "poor me, gas is so expensive!" or whether one is casting a glance at such far-flung places as Darfur, or any of dozens of other places enduring the kind of violence, starvation, and disease that rival Mongol invasions and plague you're talking about.

I feel extremely fortunate to be where and when I am. Many, many others today aren't nearly as lucky.

 

[jomar]

That'll work, too. I like stubborn. The only reason this AV is a bear is because I couldn't find a badger!

Here you go.

http://www.alincocostumes.com/catal...D=149&osCsid=799d24ed932bcd3cb60114da7ebc69c9

http://www.alincocostumes.com/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=43&osCsid=799d24ed932bcd3cb60114da7ebc69c9

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

That depends on whether one is saying, "poor me, gas is so expensive!" or whether one is casting a glance at such far-flung places as Darfur, or any of dozens of other places enduring the kind of violence, starvation, and disease that rival Mongol invasions and plague you're talking about.

I feel extremely fortunate to be where and when I am. Many, many others today aren't nearly as lucky.

Roger that, big-time.

It is true, though, that although if you're in one of those hopeless places like Darfur your situation is 100 percent horrible, the percentage of the world's population who find themselves in such circumstances has perhaps never been lower, and even in most poor places human well-being has never been greater than now (sucky though it still may be in many of those places).

 

[JagFarlane]

And anyone who thinks the late '60s were bad doesn't remember 1939-45. And anyone who thinks that was bad has forgotten 1914-1918. And anyone who thinks that was bad forgets the 30 Year War. And who thinks that was bad forgets the Mongol invasions.

You want bad? You're the resident of a Khwarezmian city in 1230 and the Mongols have pitched a big black tent in front of the gates - the indication that every man, woman, child, dog, cat and gerbil is going to murdered by swords and spears - many after providing a little "fun" for the boys - and there's not a damned thing you can do about it.

Housing prices? Stock market declines? Let's get serious. How about the Black Death, for goodness sake, or the Holacaust. We not only have it incredibly good, most of us don't have a clue about just how good we have it.

Sorry for ranting. This is certainly not targeted at V.M. or anyone else here. I'm just venting my general frustration with the lack of historical perspective that is so characteristic today.

Here's some food for thought:

Unemployment right now is 5.5%. In as recently as the early 90's, that was considered a good to great number. They only got worried when it reached 15-20%.

In Haiti parents are begging people to take their children just so long as they feed them. Otherwise, they're eating dirt cookies, making cookies by using dirt instead of flour, because it fills their aching stomaches.

In Venezuela, gas may be $0.12 a gallon, but unless you time the deliveries of your local store, you're likely to go and find the shelves bare of the essential staples of rice, bread, milk, fresh veggies, and fresh fruits.

In Darfur its so bad, preteen girls are prostituting themselves to UN workers for basic foods.

In Nigeria, fighting has yet again broken out and hundreds, if not thousands are dying every week.

In China, they are still coping with the aftermath of the massive earthquake they had last month. Last reported death toll: 80,000+ citizens are dead.

Hell if you want local, go to the Pine Ridge Reservation, where, well, I'll let Cloudy tell you, she's a much better expert on them than I could hope to be and probably could paint an ever so much better picture.

Really, consider yourselves lucky to live where you do. Yes, times are rough, but this is the time when you truly work on reinventing yourself. When you spend your time evaluating things and making yourself better. One way to do that is schooling. Many, MANY schools nowadays offer adult oriented classes and online courses. And many businesses are willing to pay you. Worried that Phoenix won't be an accepted college? Look at Penn State Global campus, where many of their courses are available online. Sitting on your laurels and crying won't help. Yes, its rough, no, I'm not some person making $100K a year who doesn't feel your pain. Hell, since its available on the navy website, I made about $26K last year. Yes, I live paycheck to paycheck. But, do I invest? Yes. Do I put money aside? Yes. Are there tons of things I would love to do or buy but hold back on because I care about my future? Hell yes. Do I take my own advice? Absolutely. Should you take my advice? Up to you. I just offer some ideas, proven ways to take advantage of the times and make your own future a little brighter.

And if you ever need a smile, quite of few of the lads and ladies here have some lovely AVs to drool over

 

[Belegon]

In my personal life, my lady love and my children give me hope.

In the shared world, I am given hope by how much we care. It's something I've said before but it bears repeating...

There are many, many people in this world and culture who care passionately about the living conditions and fate of people they will never meet, who live so far away they will never see the conditions those people face.

I don't recall any other time in history where such a large portion of the race of man was so compassionate. Most of human history is filled with times where the people that cleaned the floors of the wealthy were on the edge of starvation and the wealthy complained about the expense of those people's wages. Where children were seen as a legitimate labor pool. Where torture was seen as entertainment for the masses.

WE are the hope. We are the most educated and powerful people in the history of the world. Yes, that power is a sword with two edges. Caligula could not destroy the world.

But still, I find far more reason to have hope than to despair.

 

[Recidiva]

Here's some food for thought:

Unemployment right now is 5.5%. In as recently as the early 90's, that was considered a good to great number. They only got worried when it reached 15-20%.

In Haiti parents are begging people to take their children just so long as they feed them. Otherwise, they're eating dirt cookies, making cookies by using dirt instead of flour, because it fills their aching stomaches.

In Venezuela, gas may be $0.12 a gallon, but unless you time the deliveries of your local store, you're likely to go and find the shelves bare of the essential staples of rice, bread, milk, fresh veggies, and fresh fruits.

In Darfur its so bad, preteen girls are prostituting themselves to UN workers for basic foods.

In Nigeria, fighting has yet again broken out and hundreds, if not thousands are dying every week.

In China, they are still coping with the aftermath of the massive earthquake they had last month. Last reported death toll: 80,000+ citizens are dead.

Hell if you want local, go to the Pine Ridge Reservation, where, well, I'll let Cloudy tell you, she's a much better expert on them than I could hope to be and probably could paint an ever so much better picture.

Really, consider yourselves lucky to live where you do. Yes, times are rough, but this is the time when you truly work on reinventing yourself. When you spend your time evaluating things and making yourself better. One way to do that is schooling. Many, MANY schools nowadays offer adult oriented classes and online courses. And many businesses are willing to pay you. Worried that Phoenix won't be an accepted college? Look at Penn State Global campus, where many of their courses are available online. Sitting on your laurels and crying won't help. Yes, its rough, no, I'm not some person making $100K a year who doesn't feel your pain. Hell, since its available on the navy website, I made about $26K last year. Yes, I live paycheck to paycheck. But, do I invest? Yes. Do I put money aside? Yes. Are there tons of things I would love to do or buy but hold back on because I care about my future? Hell yes. Do I take my own advice? Absolutely. Should you take my advice? Up to you. I just offer some ideas, proven ways to take advantage of the times and make your own future a little brighter.

And if you ever need a smile, quite of few of the lads and ladies here have some lovely AVs to drool over

Excellent points, all.

It's always helpful for me to think of my ancestors' faces staring at me in disapproval when I start to complain of certain things, like...the internet's down or the air conditioning is out or...gas prices are high or...

Um.

Sorry.

I'll be quiet now.

I think this is an amazing time to live. I'm intensely grateful that even though there are flaws in medicine, technology and social science...they suck less than they have during any other time in history.