Reply #48: the sun also rises -- somewhat later these days, but it does rise

[0rganism]

You may be getting hit with some SAD (seasonal affect disorder).

I know where you're coming from. I see our current situation much the same way. It's really hard to keep going sometimes, precisely because you want to care about the future. If you didn't at least want to care, you wouldn't have asked the question -- or at least not the way you did.

So, how to care. Ask yourself what kind of place the world, or humanity's condition within it, would have to be for you to care about the future again. Then do whatever you can to bring those circumstances into existence. Sometimes, you get lucky and they're already in existence but you just didn't notice them before.

Which brings me back to the SAD. You're something of a newcomer to the PNW, from Nevada IIRC. Even though we've had a pretty dry fall so far, there are still a lot of dreary days to get through, and the shorter daylight makes a lot of people grumpy even without the perpetual rain. Even if it doesn't rise to the level of full-blown SAD, you have to have a way to handle the doldrums around here or eventually you'll go stir-crazy. I recommend getting a light box and using it every day for half an hour as you get up, it really helps with the dark times. This isn't meant to trivialize your original post, which I find largely accurate if a bit one-sided. When I can only see that side, I get nihilistic too.

Anyway, do what you can for the future of your loved ones, and start by finding more to appreciate in the present. Say what you like about what others have done and will be doing elsewhere, you still have the here & now to deal with, and that's the basis from which all future moments will be derived, one way or another. Just make sure that whatever you think about the future generally isn't cheating you in the present, and what you think about the global situation isn't degrading your ability to enjoy the people and places in your immediate vicinity. Enjoy your existence, be grateful to those who show you kindness and affection and respect, and you'll find yourself caring again, one way or another.

Free advice from a former sunlight-dweller. :)