During this turbulent time, chaos abounds, Notaries are making bank, and many are depressed.

I am very depressed these days. This article was written in late 2020, a few months before it was published by the way. I have never been that happy, but it is much worse now due to the external environment taking a turn for the worse with chaos, stores closed, and so much clash between people.

I read somewhere that it is good to take a media break. I thought this would help. I decided to listen to more music online and history documentaries. I saw great stuff on youtube about ancient Egypt and got to know Johann Sebastian Bach in a new way during my media break. I’m on a first name basis with him, except he prefers his middle name since his brothers were also named Johann. Germans — what do you expect?

This media break was not absolute. I just cut it down by 70%. The problem is that when I leave the house, I see the same closures, masks, and all people talk about is how the leftists and the conservatives are insane, unreasonable and polarized. We argue about whether Covid-19 restrictions are too much or not enough. And we wonder if the economy will ever come back. The fact is that news or no news, we are still part of society unless we go live in the tundra in Alaska — and if society is sick, we are affected by that sickness no matter what type of media we tune into. The harpsichord suites by Jean-Phillipe Rameau were a real treat though.

Taking longs walks in Joshua Tree and other hiking destinations is helpful. That gets me separated from society. And so does meditation. But, I cannot divorce myself from the world I live in. It affects me no matter what I do.

I tried to cut myself off from the more toxic elements of life. Whole Foods used to be a nice place to shop daily, but they became a nagging gulag with endless stupid and annoying rules. I get in a bad mood every time I go there so I am boycotting them for a second time. Ralphs supermarket is almost identical to how it was pre-Covid other than reduced people and facemasks. No nagging or lines or anything. I am just trying to develop new routines to keep myself sane and happy. It is not working, but at least I am trying. What I really need is a massage. Hopefully soon I will be able to.

My media break helped a little, but it doesn’t change the fact that I live in a toxic world. For Hindus who say that you can’t change the world, you can only change yourself — it is hard to change yourself to deal with a toxic world. The toxicity doesn’t end and it doesn’t stop effecting you no matter how hard you meditate.

So, for now, hang in there. I hope I can hang in there too.