How to Survive in '25
There’s no way around it: it’s 2025. And that means we’re just days away from Elon Musk’s presidency.If you’re feeling anxious about the U.S. government being run by a man whose rockets regularly explode on the launching pad, I understand.I want to help keep you sane this year—and the next four.I’m not recommending that you disengage from the world, swallow fistfuls of gummies, or go on a four-year hot yoga retreat. I’m offering advice to make you calmer and stronger—and better equipped to do the important work ahead.A few weeks ago, I published an essay called In Search of Sanity, in which I recommended, among other things, the Serenity Prayer:God give me the serenity to accept things which cannot be changed; Give me courage to change things which must be changed; And the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.TBR community members contributed many insightful responses to my essay. Here are some of them:The Serenity Prayer is really a recap of Stoic thinking (sorry, Christians). Epictetus: "There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." Old Epi (as his friends were wont to call him) was keen on the notion of "what is up to us, and what is not up to us." Sweat the stuff that you can do something about; getting overwrought about the rest of the nonsense is futile. Do you really think your worrying is going to change Trump suddenly from unhinged to "hinged"? Figuring out the difference is not all that hard, but it takes some work, for sure. I'd only add to your serenity recipe some of the prescriptions from Timothy Snyder in his pocket-sized book, On Tyranny: "Stand Out. Be Careful With Language & Listen for Dangerous Words. Investigate. Get Outside. Make New Friends and March With Them. Be As Courageous as You Can." And—support institutions that count, whether they be journalistic, non-profits, local government or whatever makes sense. We can't afford to sit back. Ever. I have a suggestion which I’m trying to get myself to take a little more often: instead of listening to NPR on your earbuds or your home radio, put on MUSIC. Do you remember music? It’s wonderful! Try it sometime. I would add that, in the end, we have as individuals more power over and access to change than we often realize. Look how South Korea just dealt with the martial law situation! Mika and Joe now defend their trip to grovel at Trump’s feet with “That’s our job!” I leave it up to MSNBC and the network to accept that as a proper validation of their FL trip (love your note that their show is “Fox for vegans”). The viewers took flight and if they stay away the ad dollars will follow suit. This type of action/reaction goes for any well thought out strategy to “defend” our rights, our liberty and our Democracy. It just takes a little bit more thinking and a proactive rather than passive (as in victim) attitude! I’m 66, and have a lifetime of anxiety and depression behind me with lots of trauma. Along with many years of therapy, you don’t want to know how many, I started mindfulness meditation training with the Headspace app three years ago. And the main point if mindfulness, is that all we have is right now. The past is gone, and the future never arrives. None of us know what’s going to happen, we absolutely do need to focus on the micro, and do what we can to change our small corner every day. For me that means being kind, helping others when I can, and doing my best to live in the moment. Simple, but not easy. I've been trying to tell my mourning friends that they're mourning before the body's dead. I believe Trump will cause great damage, and hurt a lot of people, but I have hope that the midterms will dull the pain, and in four years the Trump era will slowly start to diminish. I don't think Vance or certainly not DJ Jr. have the personal charisma to keep his rabid followers as riled up. I could be wrong, but history shows us that most political movements reach a peak, then subside. Hell, even the Berlin wall fell. How about Epictetus? Basic premise: There are only two things in life that matter: First: Figure out in any situation what is the best thing to do. Second: Do it. I’d like to close this New Year’s post with links to three other TBR posts you might find useful:What Happens Now?Turning Off the NewsYou’re Not AloneAnd if none of that helps, perhaps this photo of my handsome friend Cookie will:
Happy New Year, my friends! We’re going to get through this. Together.Love,Andy
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