The World is Not Going To End Soon. February 20, 2025 3:52 PM Subscribe
Inspired by the answers to Is the World Ending, it seemed like a good idea to share these answers with as many people as possible! It's a lot harder to have a Calmer Vibes Chill Thread today. That seems so quaint. Yikes. This is a place to post all of the reasons you know about that mean The World is Not Going To End Soon. ❤️ (examples within)
I think the room for optimism is that life will still go on and at an individual level it will still be filled with the small joys and pains that we have now. Knowing that things are shit can also make it easier for people to actually mobilize and do something about it. Here in Canada we're seeing an upsurge in patriotism since Trump made his tariff threat. Before that much of the talk was some pretty racist discourse around Indian immigrants but those complaints have seemingly been forgotten now that we have an actual problem to deal with.
any portmanteau in a storm
I've done some traveling both inside the USA and out - and the thing I love most about it is that it reminds me that no matter where I go, for the most part, people want to be good and want to help me. I'm a stranger and in some cases I don't speak their language, but I have many stories of people trying to help me when I'm lost, when I'm confused about something, or having some other misfortune. Strangers have pitched in to get me reorient myself in an unfamiliar city, explain a menu item when neither of us spoke the same language, or help me recover from a theft with advice, a price break when replacing some of my things, a shot of whiskey and a chance to vent. It reminds me that no matter what the governments are doing, people themselves want to do good.
...I guarantee you that the more a government oversteps, the more likely it is that people will know someone personally affected and will stand up and say "wait a minute, stop."
EmpressCallipygos
Among other things the "world" part of World War 2 was mostly driven by European countries having colonies all over the place and the war spreading to them. Otherwise it would have been a European war happening at the same time as a Pacific war. Very few colonies these days.
One good thing is that 90% of the world's nuclear weapons are under the control of the U.S. (if they can find the briefcase) and Russia. Both countries have a lot of local invading to do so at the moment there's no reason for them to clash.
Tell Me No Lies
I would love to hear some people say some hopeful things about the geopolitical situation, because I was never the best-educated in geography or world affairs. But even in the absence of hopeful specifics—even in the absence of a government that cares about me, values my identity, or will listen to me—I can have a joyful, fulfilling life, and do my best to stay in mental and physical spaces that are safe and good for me. I can find community and connect with people who care about the things I care about and practice things I practice. I'll do that until I can't—hopefully that point never comes, but if it does, then I'll figure it out. So will you. So say we all.
limeonaire
I have cherry picked a few of my favorite parts but please do read the rest of those comments, especially if you are tipping over into 51% doom spiral.
OH and one more thing. Everyone Should Know About this
I promise you will not regret it. (AND, at least one of our own watched it happen in real time.)
I think the room for optimism is that life will still go on and at an individual level it will still be filled with the small joys and pains that we have now. Knowing that things are shit can also make it easier for people to actually mobilize and do something about it. Here in Canada we're seeing an upsurge in patriotism since Trump made his tariff threat. Before that much of the talk was some pretty racist discourse around Indian immigrants but those complaints have seemingly been forgotten now that we have an actual problem to deal with.
any portmanteau in a storm
I've done some traveling both inside the USA and out - and the thing I love most about it is that it reminds me that no matter where I go, for the most part, people want to be good and want to help me. I'm a stranger and in some cases I don't speak their language, but I have many stories of people trying to help me when I'm lost, when I'm confused about something, or having some other misfortune. Strangers have pitched in to get me reorient myself in an unfamiliar city, explain a menu item when neither of us spoke the same language, or help me recover from a theft with advice, a price break when replacing some of my things, a shot of whiskey and a chance to vent. It reminds me that no matter what the governments are doing, people themselves want to do good.
...I guarantee you that the more a government oversteps, the more likely it is that people will know someone personally affected and will stand up and say "wait a minute, stop."
EmpressCallipygos
Among other things the "world" part of World War 2 was mostly driven by European countries having colonies all over the place and the war spreading to them. Otherwise it would have been a European war happening at the same time as a Pacific war. Very few colonies these days.
One good thing is that 90% of the world's nuclear weapons are under the control of the U.S. (if they can find the briefcase) and Russia. Both countries have a lot of local invading to do so at the moment there's no reason for them to clash.
Tell Me No Lies
I would love to hear some people say some hopeful things about the geopolitical situation, because I was never the best-educated in geography or world affairs. But even in the absence of hopeful specifics—even in the absence of a government that cares about me, values my identity, or will listen to me—I can have a joyful, fulfilling life, and do my best to stay in mental and physical spaces that are safe and good for me. I can find community and connect with people who care about the things I care about and practice things I practice. I'll do that until I can't—hopefully that point never comes, but if it does, then I'll figure it out. So will you. So say we all.
limeonaire
I have cherry picked a few of my favorite parts but please do read the rest of those comments, especially if you are tipping over into 51% doom spiral.
OH and one more thing. Everyone Should Know About this
I promise you will not regret it. (AND, at least one of our own watched it happen in real time.)
I, too, am watching plants grow. Mine are in a smart garden, because I'd forget to water them otherwise. The added bonus is that they're on my desk in my home office and so I get to look at them all the time. It's really cool to have such a front-row seat at Life Going On, literally.
posted by demi-octopus at 2:21 AM on February 21 [3 favorites]
posted by demi-octopus at 2:21 AM on February 21 [3 favorites]
Entropy means we can never win in the long run. It's always easier to break a coffee mug than to make one. But that just means we need to take the time to appreciate the absolute miracle that we have coffee, and mugs, and people, and life on this little backwater planet.
We are part of a blossoming that can only be momentary in the context of the universe, a beautiful bubble expanding until it inevitably pops. The fact that we've learned so much about the universe: the big bang, galaxies, particle physics, background radiation, etc, and can see ourselves in that context is so bittersweet, and matches our civilizations with our personal stories. Every one of us is going to die, and coming to terms with that is the work of a lifetime.
Perhaps all this is a midlife crisis for our species. Will that new motorcycle we bought kill us? Or will we make it past this phase with some hard earned wisdom for our twilight years?
posted by rikschell at 8:41 AM on February 21 [7 favorites]
We are part of a blossoming that can only be momentary in the context of the universe, a beautiful bubble expanding until it inevitably pops. The fact that we've learned so much about the universe: the big bang, galaxies, particle physics, background radiation, etc, and can see ourselves in that context is so bittersweet, and matches our civilizations with our personal stories. Every one of us is going to die, and coming to terms with that is the work of a lifetime.
Perhaps all this is a midlife crisis for our species. Will that new motorcycle we bought kill us? Or will we make it past this phase with some hard earned wisdom for our twilight years?
posted by rikschell at 8:41 AM on February 21 [7 favorites]
mittens we planted a few milkweed plants last year and had SO MANY monarchs in our small urban yard!!! even a tiny garden will bring them, and help them. (if you have room for a small birdbath or fountain bees need water too, just fill it with rocks for them to stand on. bees can't swim.)
posted by supermedusa at 11:06 AM on February 21 [4 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 11:06 AM on February 21 [4 favorites]
The hellebores are budding
My black hollyhocks that I planted last year have survived the cold
My little cat hid in the laundry basket and squeaked at me when I couldn't find him "come here mother"
My work of connecting people deeply to themselves continues no matter what else is going on around me
The universe is SO BIG and so full
"I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye" - kimya dawson
So many people are fighting and resisting and refusing to collapse
Queer and trans people and Autistic people have always been in this world and we will always be here
All the kids growing up right now that I personally have contact with (which is a lot bc I work with kids) are absolutely incredible children who see the world so beautifully and clearly
Little dogs go trotting around on their walkies every day with little coats on
People exist under fascist and oppressive conditions all over the world and still find joy and connection
Every time I acknowledge and name the existence of my own grief I feel more empowered to exist and resist
posted by fairlynearlyready at 12:11 PM on February 21 [5 favorites]
My black hollyhocks that I planted last year have survived the cold
My little cat hid in the laundry basket and squeaked at me when I couldn't find him "come here mother"
My work of connecting people deeply to themselves continues no matter what else is going on around me
The universe is SO BIG and so full
"I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye" - kimya dawson
So many people are fighting and resisting and refusing to collapse
Queer and trans people and Autistic people have always been in this world and we will always be here
All the kids growing up right now that I personally have contact with (which is a lot bc I work with kids) are absolutely incredible children who see the world so beautifully and clearly
Little dogs go trotting around on their walkies every day with little coats on
People exist under fascist and oppressive conditions all over the world and still find joy and connection
Every time I acknowledge and name the existence of my own grief I feel more empowered to exist and resist
posted by fairlynearlyready at 12:11 PM on February 21 [5 favorites]
My town does a yearly program where residents can submit applications for small grants to do something environmentally positive in their neighborhood. My wife and another neighbor stuck forms in every mailbox in our neighborhood asking for homeowner permission to have a native tree planted on the street-facing side of their property should they get the grant money. They're getting a lot of signed forms back! Getting the grant money isn't a given, but it's making her really happy in the meantime. (Doug Tallamy is a hero of hers and she's making it her mission to "Tallamy-up" our neighboorhood)
My thoughts very much echoed rikschell's this morning as I was walking the dogs. In a world where it is easier to destroy than to create, and to take than to produce, the best I can do is appreciate what I have and do my best to produce more and create more and help those within my reach.
posted by jermsplan at 12:56 PM on February 21 [3 favorites]
My thoughts very much echoed rikschell's this morning as I was walking the dogs. In a world where it is easier to destroy than to create, and to take than to produce, the best I can do is appreciate what I have and do my best to produce more and create more and help those within my reach.
posted by jermsplan at 12:56 PM on February 21 [3 favorites]
mittens, one of the most wonderful things about gardening is that, if you plant natives and aren't too picky about what winds up coming up, you don't have to know anything about gardening to get a beautiful native garden. Ask me how I know!
(I started planting grocery-store plants when, for some reason, they got really cheap during the pandemic, and I had a spotty and weird-looking garden, but it gave me an idea of what I liked. Then I started shopping at seed sources like Native American Seed, and have a garden that must frustrate anyone with an orderly mind but that makes me happy all the while it's in its verdant, disorderly bloom.)
posted by It is regrettable that at 1:39 PM on February 21 [5 favorites]
(I started planting grocery-store plants when, for some reason, they got really cheap during the pandemic, and I had a spotty and weird-looking garden, but it gave me an idea of what I liked. Then I started shopping at seed sources like Native American Seed, and have a garden that must frustrate anyone with an orderly mind but that makes me happy all the while it's in its verdant, disorderly bloom.)
posted by It is regrettable that at 1:39 PM on February 21 [5 favorites]
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posted by mittens at 4:10 PM on February 20 [10 favorites]