DESPONDENCY

(08,22,2022) Despondency is depression of one’s spirit, brought about by loss of courage or hope! This is a primary symptom prevalent amongst those suffering from mental or spiritual anguish, today. The causes are evident and all around us. Those concerned about Earth’s environment are bearing witness to the most rapid depletion of our glaciers since we began keeping records. Green house gases, caused by man, exacerbate the problem. Climate change is happening at a rate faster than the scientists could have predicted. Deniers of this crisis usually have their eye on a natural resource, such as fossil fuels, which they hope to exploit in order to increase their wealth. They care nothing for the environment or the world that will be left behind for our children. Unfortunately, many of these nay-sayers have some political position, or influence on a politician, which can permit them to dictate the laws, write bills and make choices in favour of their continued systematic raping of Mother Nature. To make matters worse, as the ice fields melt and allow access to virgin territory ripe with new resources, countries are scrambling to see who can lay claim to the valuable assets below the surface of the property. Fracking has already caused more damage than it is worth! Oil sands, oil rigs and oil carriers continue to pollute our land and our oceans. Every country and its citizens have been forced to become unnecessarily dependent on this fuel, despite the fact that there are cleaner, more natural and efficient ways to provide heat and power. There always has been! And yet, for over one century, we have let the oil cartels run the world, regardless of the country in which they reside. In a war, such as Russian President Putin’s current conflict with Ukraine, oil is being used, by Putin, to influence or coerce the decisions of NATO allies (who would normally condemn every aspect of his attack on Ukraine) to bend to Putin’s bidding, thereby supporting the enemy of the free world. During the administration of the P.O.T.A.S. (President of the American Supremacists), the former president of the United States nixed every program which was previously set up by President Obama and was designed to protect the earth’s environment and reduce green house gas emissions. The P.O.T.A.S. also appointed a new minister for the environment, one who had been a former lobbyist for the oil industry, if that makes any sense at all. Of course, laws protecting the environment went out the window and, once again, the oil cartels were given free rein. The same was done for the coal industry. It was depressing to read that America is one of the largest users of coal (and one of the biggest polluters of the environment) second only to China, especially when it is so unnecessary. Small wonder that some people are becoming more despondent! Many of our own leaders only care about increasing the wealth of the elite few and, for that, they are willing to condemn all of our children to a devastated planet! The P.O.T.A.S. even tried to play down the severity of the coronavirus, contradicting his own health official and refusing to put into practice programs which would mitigate both the spread and the effects of the deadly virus. As a result, hundreds of thousands of his own people have died from COVID-19. Untold millions were left to suffer anguish in the aftermath. The death toll was equivalent to that of any major war. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the very same former president, the P.O.T.A.S., also went on to attempt a coup on his own government, rallying far right supremacists, to lead an attack on the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the election of a new president. To this day, the P.O.T.A.S. is still trying to convince the world that the election was rigged and he is willing to start another civil war, in America, in order to regain power. He cares not one iota for America’s constitution nor that for which it stands. Closer to home, should one be so fortunate as to not be born in a country which has been divided by its former president who is nothing more than a sociopathic conman (willing to destroy his own country, as well as the rest of the world, simply to replenish his bank account which has dwindled due to poor ethics and bad management), nor raised in a nation which is under siege by a sadistic, ruthless dictator (with too much military might and no compassion), then, all one has to worry about is the rapidly increasing rate of inflation along with the rising rate of interest to match, whether or not one will be able to meet the next mortgage payment, pay the electricity bill, the water bill and the gas bill or, instead, buy groceries at a grossly inflated rate, not to mention worrying about whether one can afford to get sick right now and, if so, whether or not one will die from the next virus. Please forgive the extensive, long-winded, sentence, but, it does seem to illustrate how many of these issues, including the afore-mentioned environmental ones, can invasively bombard one’s brain, all at once, at any time of the day or night. Its enough to make any person grow despondent! For the sake of brevity (and the sanity of the reader), we will delve no deeper into the psyche of an individual nor the even more personal issues with which each and every one of us has to deal every day. Suffice it to say, ‘we are all in the same boat’ and its ‘taking on water’. There comes a point when one can no longer bear the strain and all hope seems lost. Above all else, this is the most critical and dangerous time for an individual, when one is most vulnerable! Losing the courage to forge on can place a soul beyond hope and leave them susceptible either emotionally or to outside influences. Now that I have overstated the obvious, it behooves one to ask, “What can be done to help these individuals get out from under that ‘dark cloud’?” Speaking as one who has suffered from despair, more than once, it is no easy task for the individual to overcome their deep feelings of loss. Lack of control over one’s life dredges up all sorts of negative thoughts! So, the first thing that one can offer, to a troubled soul, is a renewed sense of worth and purpose. Professional help sometimes provides insight to core issues, but is lacking in answers and advice. Family and friends offer love and emotional support but, often that is not enough. A concentrated effort is required, on the part of the individual, to truly desire the strength to carry on and not give in to negative thoughts. Admitting that one has a problem, is the first step to recovery. Seeking help, is the second step. But, the only way to begin the long road back is to convince one’s self that one is not responsible for the multitude of issues that plague our planet, nor the misfortune, in one’s life, that has led to monetary problems. I have found that one old cliché particularly holds true, today, while summing up this scenario. I am sure that we have all heard it before but, I have found that, “It is always darkest before the dawn!” Don’t get me wrong, I am not offering clichés as an answer. I am just speaking from experience. If you have ‘hit bottom’, the only way to go, is up! Once I learned to forgive myself for falling into ‘a deep pit’, I realized that things would be much worse for my family if I was not there for them! Regretfully, during my time of despair, I neglected their needs. Then, recognizing my own self-pity, and the damage it could cause to my loved ones, helped me to recover. I took an oath to be stronger for my family and face my demons head on. During this time, the one thing that aided me, and encouraged me to rise from the gloom, was faith!