Ramblings from the edge.

The world's a funny place right now.

Not omfg rofl funny. Not even hmm ha funny. Just that sort of Christ, what the fuck is happening? funny.

Like most writers, I spend more time in my head than out. It's probably a 70-30 split. Sometimes, I can't even help it. Despite my best efforts, I often find myself thinking about the state of the world and drift automatically into a sort of existential despair.

This morning, I felt it again mid-coffee. That bothered me because it was good coffee.

I don't know why I'm writing any of this or sharing it with you. I guess I felt compelled to acknowledge that we're simply not equipped to properly process a lot of what's happening in and to the world today. We're essentially clothed apes with brains still programmed to gather berries and huddle in caves caught in a Category 5 polycrisis.

So cut yourself some slack, for crying out loud. I don't want to shatter your self-image here, but you're hardly Atlas. It's really not your job to bear the weight of the world on your puny human shoulders.

Anyway, I digress. Back to it.

I believe cynicism, nihilism, existential fear, and all the other heavy, scary feelings are the natural reactions of good people in bad times. They're innate in people who care about more than just themselves – especially those who tend to think deeply.

I have a theory that minds are far-reaching in all directions. I think that's why, for example, a lot of comedians are depressed. You can't know where the funny is if you don't also know where the pain is.

Brains aren't one-way streets – they're more like roundabouts with infinite exits.

What I'm trying to say is that we always have the option to pick another exit. I've learned the hard way that no amount of anxiety will change what's going to happen. Only your actions can do that.

Presence is key, too. As is gratitude. I won't drag you too far down the spirituality rabbit hole here, but, when your toes are curled over the edge of the abyss and you're peering into the bottomless dark, I think it's important to bring yourself home to the present moment and remember what you're grateful for here and now. It's always now, after all, and, if you're reading this, I'd wager you already have a lot to be thankful for. You're alive, self-aware, able to read, and privileged enough to have access to enough food, water, and shelter to make it through to tomorrow. That's something, right?

So start there. Be the human you are before you succumb to fear of a future that isn't. We'll get there when we get there, and we'll get there together. All we can do in the meantime is be here now, do what we need to do, and protect our sanity while we have it.

Albert Camus, one of my favourite philosophers, really nailed it when he wrote: "Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee?"

Choose coffee.