What I've learned in the several decades of life I've lived so far is that your mood day to day is almost entirely dependent on how you interpret the narrative of your life, not what is actually happening.
You mention "having a kid, covid, war, etc."
But what else is happening in your life? It's impossible that every waking moment is 100% consumed by kids/wars/disease/economic collapse/etc. That's the narrative you are telling yourself. So change it! Tell yourself how lovely that flower is on the path over there. Tell yourself how nice the breeze is that wafts over your face. Tell yourself the color of the painting that hangs in your room is a lovely shade of orange. Tell yourself the smell of the soda in your cup is amazing and nourishing.
You may think I sound rather bananas right now, but this is all part of mindfulness training. I had to learn this, because years ago I was falling into a deep depression and consumed by panic attacks. I had gone on and off to therapy in the past, but this time I ended up reading a bunch of materials about mindfulness including the book Mindsight. It changed my life.
We tend to spend most of our lives on autopilot, nearly oblivious to the world around us and instead living in a fantasy we've constructed in our heads—sometimes a very dark fantasy. The way out of that is to become mindful: mindful of breathing, walking on a street, talking to a friend, writing a comment on Hacker News. =) It's not just about "living in the moment" — we're always living in the moment. The question is, do we notice that moment is even there? Are we able to slow/quiet down our inner cross-talk in order to perceive the world right in front of us?
Our powers of observation can be an incredible tool of rejuvenation and inspiration. We just need to focus on the right stuff. Needless to say, scrolling through social media is probably not the best destination for mindfulness. Informative, sometimes, entertaining, sometimes…but most certainly not where we should derive any real sense of meaning or purpose.
Anyway, apologies for the lengthy soapbox—this is just a topic I've thought long and hard about over many moons. Hope you are feeling better soon. :)
What I've learned in the several decades of life I've lived so far is that your mood day to day is almost entirely dependent on how you interpret the narrative of your life, not what is actually happening.
You mention "having a kid, covid, war, etc."
But what else is happening in your life? It's impossible that every waking moment is 100% consumed by kids/wars/disease/economic collapse/etc. That's the narrative you are telling yourself. So change it! Tell yourself how lovely that flower is on the path over there. Tell yourself how nice the breeze is that wafts over your face. Tell yourself the color of the painting that hangs in your room is a lovely shade of orange. Tell yourself the smell of the soda in your cup is amazing and nourishing.
You may think I sound rather bananas right now, but this is all part of mindfulness training. I had to learn this, because years ago I was falling into a deep depression and consumed by panic attacks. I had gone on and off to therapy in the past, but this time I ended up reading a bunch of materials about mindfulness including the book Mindsight. It changed my life.
We tend to spend most of our lives on autopilot, nearly oblivious to the world around us and instead living in a fantasy we've constructed in our heads—sometimes a very dark fantasy. The way out of that is to become mindful: mindful of breathing, walking on a street, talking to a friend, writing a comment on Hacker News. =) It's not just about "living in the moment" — we're always living in the moment. The question is, do we notice that moment is even there? Are we able to slow/quiet down our inner cross-talk in order to perceive the world right in front of us?
Our powers of observation can be an incredible tool of rejuvenation and inspiration. We just need to focus on the right stuff. Needless to say, scrolling through social media is probably not the best destination for mindfulness. Informative, sometimes, entertaining, sometimes…but most certainly not where we should derive any real sense of meaning or purpose.
Anyway, apologies for the lengthy soapbox—this is just a topic I've thought long and hard about over many moons. Hope you are feeling better soon. :)