The Upside Down Devil On My Shoulder

D‘oh… I woke up last night with a Pessimist Devil on my shoulder.

WTH? Where did YOU come from?

I’ve had an Optimist Angel on my other shoulder for a long time, but this new little Satan is gnawing at me… *SHOO!*

I’m living in a world of confusion… I’m more befuddled today than I’ve been in my entire dinosaur-aged life.

More befuddled than when I first saw race walkers in the Olympics and wondered… “WHY?” Are they racing to the bathroom but don’t want to run and cause an explosion?

More befuddled than a peephole placed on the edge of a glass door.

More befuddled than a golf ball decked out with camouflage paint.

I want to be an optimist.

I really really REALLY want to be an optimist.

I look at major components of our world and see a HUGE wave of historic hope and cheer.

There are a number of reputable reports telling us that humans are living a far better and safer life than they have in our entire history. What’s not to love? Optimists should be jumping for joy. And yet… it’s hard not to see…

… the Upside Down (see Stranger Things for explanation) in our world… and it’s becoming more and more evident in the past 5-10 years that this alternate dimension is inhospitable to humans and life of all kinds, and should be avoided at all costs.

Here’s the Upside Down shortlist:

• Greenhouse gases and climate change

• nuclear weapons at the ready in the trigger fingers of demented despots

• super-killer guns in kids’ cereal boxes *only a slight exaggeration*

• huge swaths of people with “science hatred”

• widespread disbelief in clear and obvious facts

• xenophobia

• expanding wealth gap

• viruses

• inflation

• healthcare inadequacy

So, is Bill wrong?

Longer-term I don’t think so.

These concerns and worries I’m experiencing are like a pesky mosquito that hums around me in my bedroom darkness… it irritates incessantly but is astonishingly resistant to the “squish”.

I know that modern technology, ubiquitous internet, and social networks are both a panacea and deadly virus wrapped tightly in a single package… we love all the “wonder drug” good they bring us, the angelic positives… communication and education at our fingertips. *Why aren’t you TikTok’ing to me?*

But the devilish negatives, the “Monkeypox” side effects are pressing a colossal thumb on the weigh scales of civilization. Our degrees of humanity are becoming less human and more neanderthal.

Who would have predicted 25 years ago that with greater education, we’d become more stupid in many ways?

As worried as I might seem, I know that humanity (like investments) doesn’t follow a straight-line upwards graph of human progress and happiness. There are tumultuous and painful bumps along the road. Dreadful storms need to be weathered to reach Shangri-La.

The antidote to my pint-sized “shoulder demon”, and my optimistic message to you and me both in these uncertain times, is to take a deep yoga breath and reflect on the “angelic” positives.

Here are just 8 global “angels” to brighten the world:

OK… while it’s pretty clear that the manure of life will never smell like roses…

… we can remind ourselves of the little boy who, upon receiving a pile of horsesh*t for his birthday, immediately began digging through it with glee and excitement… “yippee, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!“”