Help me keep my sanity! I'm begging you.

[Hamlette]

At the worst of the Vietnam era and again when Reagan was relected, my friend Donald and I played a "see its not so bad" game. We'd try to cheer each other up by naming things that are good about our world/life/situation. He died of aids a few years back so I nominate you to play.

I'll start with one of Donald's: The New Yorker. he loved everthing about it. The Articles, cover, cartoons, and for reminding me there are sane Americans, even if they do live far away in Manhatten. I like it too and it does cheer me up sometimes.

I'm also going to take the three easiest away: Krugman, Olberman and Stewart. They keep me sane.

Your turn. What keeps you sane?

[Carolab]

1. My boyfriend. He's a riot.

And an optimist. Sorry he's not there to help you too.

[Flammable Materials]

2. My Sanity

My three best friends. (They live in Holland.)
John Waters.
Doug Stanhope.

[blondeatlast]

3. Bette Davis movies (I'm a straight fem, fwiw). My wonderful

little boy and my husband. My great job--I work in office full of progressives.

DU.

[babylonsister]

4. John Conyers fighting the good fight helps. nt

[jeff30997]

5. My younger sister.

If she wasn't there to cheer me up from time to time, I would jump off a cliff.

[walldude]

6. Why DU of course!

Crooks and Liars
The Smirking Chimp
Media Matters
Randi Rhodes

[harpo]

27. yep...DU helps keep me sane

[applegrove]

7. cry and laugh. Going through all the emotions of grief. And all the stages

Then you get to the end of the process where you accept the world is not just, there is good and bad. And you can accept the situation you are in. You will not wear your heart on your sleeve. But you will act with empathy and be more discerning about the battles to fight. You will be more discerning about the emotional fights to invest in.

And you will fight more efficiently. And you will be standing back a bit.. and not so tormented by the details. And you will have more emotional resources to give to the fight and save for your life. And you will win that way.You will see the overall patterns. And follow those and fight there instead.

And you will have found some peace.

[NMDemDist2]

8. Stewart for sure, natural beauty

I am lucky to have beautiful mountains out my car window in the morning as the sun peeps up to start the day

DU and the Nation magazine

Amy Goodman

these things all give me hope...

:hug: from one old hippie to another :)

(PS one of my dearest friends also died of AIDS and I miss him still--- how good a friend you ask? he helped me move 8 times in 10 years! now THAT's a true friend LOL)

[xray s]

9. the internet

I don't know what I would do if I had to rely on the MSM for information

[BigBearJohn]

10. Knowing there are people like Barbara in office

[October]

11. Daily doses of...

Du
Bartcop
Jon Stewart

Honestly...it helps.

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. Good topic. I beginning to appreciate Bob Herbert's column...

in the Times. The Times in general... particularly the LTTEs, which are often more illuminating than the professional pundits across the page.

[Hamlette]

19. thanks for the tip...LTTE in the Times, I'll give it a try. On that note,

the comments posted by readers about some columns. When Brooks wrote "the world is ruined and there will be no peace anywhere until the Dems agree to overturn Roe v Wade" the responses from the readers were the best!

[BigBearJohn]

13. This song from "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" sung by Donovan

from "Brother Sun, Sister Moon"

If you want your dream to be
Build it slow and surely

Small beginnings greater ends
Heartfelt work grows purely

If you want to live life free
Take your time go slowly

Do few things but do them well
Simple joys are holy

Day by day stone by stone
Build your secret slowly

Day by day you'll grow too
You'll know heaven's glory

If you want your dream to be
Build it slow and surely

Small beginnings greater ends
Heartfelt work grows purely

If you want to live life free
Take your time go slowly

[BigBearJohn]

14. BUT WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, a bottle of Grand Marnier followed by 14 hrs

of sleep usually does it.

[FreedomAngel82]

15. Jon Stewart and Mike Malloy

Them and the other progressive talk shows keep me sane. Stewart keeps me laughing.

[Harry S Truman]

16. Sane?

What's that?? Oh, yeah. For me, it's wine, vodka and a relentless, ever refreshing shoe fetish.

[Hamlette]

20. Why Mr. Truman. Shoes? I never knew.

how refreshing. :)

[wookie294]

26. Mike Malloy, Ketel One Vodka and Internet News

And a song by John Lennon called "Tomorrow Never Knows."

[lildreamer316]

66. WHOA!

Are you my twin?! What kind of wine? (merlot aged at least 3 yrs. or reisling; grey goose or stoli) and on the enless hunt for the perfect pair of wood-heeled sandals (like the old Candies)

[jon strad]

17. Not to be too much of a copycat

but DU, of course! I think I would have lost my mind during the election if it wasn't for this site. oh and the Polyphonic Spree, Jon Stewart, the Beatles, and Bright Eyes all help too.

[newyawker99]

30. Hi jon strad!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[RetroLounge]

18. Many things

My family
DU
Jon Stewart
Shooting up Heroin
Paul Krugman
My Dem/DU friends
Escaping into Hobbies

RL

[SalmonChantedEvening]

21. YOU do Hamlette

You, and everyone who screams with rage at the crimes comitted in our names, anyone who pokes holes in this phoney Texan and his seemingly endless line of followers, be they willfully ignorant of the damage being done or not.

From DU to Jon Stewart to Bartcop to AAR to Allhatnocattle, to a hundred other blogs and humor pages and op/eds that see through what others refuse to.

I hope in some small way I can return the favor that you, and everyone else I have mentioned, have done for me. You keep me thinking, smiling, and hopeful for better things to come in the face of the American Tragedy that is George W. Bush and the GOP. You keep me looking for truth among the lies. I will do the same for you. I will mock, scream, laugh, ponder, and learn with you.


And, when necessary, be just crazygonuts for Sheets n Geegles. :D

[byronius]

22. Barbara Boxer. Randi Rhodes. The Idea Of America.

And the Magnificent Democratic Underground, which inspires me every day. This is my only source for news, these days. It's like -- an ultra-newspaper. News with critical comment. Generally arriving at the truth of the matter through reasoned and unreasoning discourse. It has helped me grow -- I've never seen anything like this, ever, in my entire life. Ever. And Air America? Don't even! Why haven't they all been killed yet?
Pendulum's gonna swing. Our way. It will happen. Here's to the Restored United States of America. Ride, Postman, Ride.

:patriot:

[kliljedahl]

23. Good Music & Good Friends

Is there anything else?


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[DarbyUSMC]

24. When I think things in this country couldn't be more screwed up, I watch

Schindler's List or some other type of documentary about the Holocaust. It doesn't fix anything, but it makes me feel like a jerk for getting myself all in a tizzy or depressed about our mountain of problems. What those survivors went through is beyond anything my mind can fathom.

People often ask how I've managed to keep my humor after eighteen years on dialysis. I see a scene in my mind or, because I just saw it last night, the face of a French woman giving her account of what it was like to be a Jew behind the fence, waiting for death and I say something like "it's nothing". Of course what I mean is that it is nothing compared to ------ so many, many other things.

[seabeyond]

25. bumperstickers all over car/ revolution;rebel music from past

my two boys school is almost out and a summer of play
a repug hubby that supports me totally
spring is here, warmth, green grass, trees, flowers
my niece is going back to her dad at end of month
john stewart
nc church cheered me, because so outrageous for many
repug father talked about need for after school programs for kids
du becoming more effective in change
i think the dems are doing a good job in congress, a pat on back

to name just a few

[Sparkly]

28. My husband, first and foremost!

He's a serious person, incredibly smart and a dedicated liberal Democrat, and he frequently rants like crazy -- but he's also got a hilarious sense of humor. He listens, he discusses, and when needed he just plain makes me laugh. We wake up laughing, we go to bed laughing, and we have moments of laughter throughout the day.

I'm also kept sane by the children I teach. The little ones are so unjaded, so open to learning, so unpretentious, so different from the worst things about us as adults.

And of course, I'm encouraged by Sparkly Jr., who routinely and brazenly takes on rightwing teachers, fundifascists, and less-enlightened peers and leaves them speechless.

Beyond that, everytime one of our Democratic leaders stands up and speaks out, I'm happy.

[EnfantTerrible]

29. Graydon Carter, my baby girl...

Midnight toking, Gore Vidal, more toking, DU, and by all accounts Arianna Huffington's new site.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/?tr=y&auid=872749

[elehhhhna]

31. I yell "Satan get behind me!" and it makes me laugh every time...

my sister the big atheist does it, too.

Try it. It works. A Louisiana accent helps if you can fake it.

[Hamlette]

34. love it!

I'll have to learn the accent but I agree, it could be the perfect response to all the stupid religious crap going on today. Which, as a big atheist too, is the thing that's freaking me out the most. I can't believe we are making important decisions based on someone's interpretation of what I consider to be an imaginary friend.

[elehhhhna]

35. Phonetic Louisiana-Accented "S G B M" for the linguistically challenged:

Very loud, high-pitch but gravelly if possible, strong accent on first syllable of "satan" and "git":

"Say-tuhn ! Git bee'hine MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!"

Try to add a vibrato on the the "MEEEEE" and you'll have it, baby!

[dddem]

32. this is a nice thread - thank you.

As for me,

My children
My family
DU
the ocean
Movies like The American President, An Affair to Remember, The Music Man, Captains Courageous, The Sandlot.

[elehhhhna]

36. ooooooooh yeah. The ocean. Oh, and the family, yeah...

Dag, we could afford the carribean twice a year when BC was working.

Snorkelling with the kids: priceless

[dddem]

37. I feel your pain!

We had 2 family reunion cruises back when my husband had a real job. I figure the only thing I'll be able to leave my kids is memories! Luckily, we're in Massachusetts, so the ocean is only about 45 minutes away (of course, it's too cold to swim in, but it's great to be able to sit on the sand and just look).
Peace.

[kwassa]

33. The philosophical expression "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke"

Allows me to disengage in the most Buddhist way from the turmoil and travail and anger of those around me.

[MadHound]

38. Nature, Mother Earth, Father Sky

Getting out and planting things, mowing the grass, watching a sunset or sunrise, listening to the birds, watching the animals. Of course I live out in the country, and doing these things are pretty easy for me. But you can have your own nature retreat in your back yard, or a nearby park.

Go use it, it will keep you sane.

[Solly Mack]

39. moving helped greatly....it allowed me to breath easier

I can escape all things Bush by just walking 1 block to the Strassebahn. My home is also a sanctuary.
My sister
Daily Show helps
REAL news...from foreign sources...HUGE difference in how I feel.

[dbt]

40. The Articles of my Heathen Faith:

Earl Scruggs is God.
John Lennon died for your sins.
Johnny Cash is the King of Rock And Roll.

[crispini]

41. Being politically active in my local area.

Every time I read about the world of the news I get ANGRY. Every time I go out to a DFA meetup, or do some volunteer work for the local Democratic Party, or go out and talk to local candidates and activists, I feel SO much better. It is so wonderful to know how many good people there are out there who are willing to give of their time and energy and work hard to try to make our world a better place. Being active in local Democratic politics keeps me sane. I wish everyone would get out and try it.

[Norquist Nemesis]

42. My husband and DU

although both of them make me crazy sometimes

[sadiesworld]

43. Chavez...

gives me hope that there is life after neo-liberalism.

edit to add: That hope keeps me sane.

[Deep13]

44. You are sane.

You are having a normal reaction to a fucked-up situation. When the world is falling apart, how are we supposed to feel? If we are okay with that, something is wrong.

Still, I know what you mean. As bad as it is, we still have to function. When I figure out how to do it, I will let you know.
:shrug:

[ghettodr]

45. Sane

Laughing at DU keeps me sane

[wryter2000]

59. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[stanwyck]

46. Chocolate, BBC, Pilates, Books

my beautiful twins, sexy husband, and friends.
(not necessarily in that order)

[KansDem]

47. Mulligan, Baker, Getz...

I listen to their recordings, and I occasionally perform their tunes with a jazz combo (saxophone).

Fridays I get home from work, put on the CDs, make a whiskey on the rocks, and prepare a delicious meal (usually barbecue). This helps me overcome much of the Bush/GOP "shit o' bull" that happened during the week.





Also, Cannonball Adderley, Nat King Cole, Lee Konitz, Mills Brothers, Julie London, Bob Brookmeyer, Art Pepper, Barney Kessel, Joe Pas, etc. etc. etc.

[mike_c]

48. bicycling, music, art, science....

Staying engaged with the parts of my life that give me pleasure and a sense of personal fulfillment.

[ck4829]

49. Find ways to oppose the RW'ers

Make a blog

Start a group such as a Yahoo Group

Trust me, it helps greatly, and can even help when you are depressed and it's not for political reasons.

[PittLib]

50. DU, first and foremost

for making me realize that I'm not alone. Inspiring politicians, even when they "lose", for showing me that they're willing to fight for the greater good. And the arts, particularly theatre, for providing me with a vicarious escapist outlet, when I'm tired of my own shit ... which is often.

[G_j]

51. Love

still plenty of it to go around!

[DrunkenMaster]

52. My Brief List

Here are a few positives for consideration:

* Kung Fu movies, especially the early films of Jackie Chan.

* The small kindnesses of beautiful women.

* The writing of Diane Ackerman, especially "A Natural History of the Senses" and "A Natural History of Love".

* The music of DeVotchKa.

[rucky]

53. The voices in my head keep me sane.

and my daughter. :)

[Individualist]

54. Rhodes, Malloy,

Michael Moore, and every author who has written a book or article telling the truth about the cabal. Also, and certainly not least, my democratic friends in a predominantly repug region.

[gordianot]

55. Why fight it?

[lukasahero]

56. My husband, my dog and my garden

I'm sorry you lost your friend - I guess you have lost one of the things you probably used to quote as something that kept you sane.

My husband and I now live for the weekends where we can turn off the news and ignore the world for just a couple of days and be thankful for our life together and how lucky we are.

It hasn't done much to improve my feelings about Monday morning but a vacation from the horror show that is the * administration is at least some slight reprieve.

Thanks for doing this thread - it's important we remember.

[FSogol]

57. My kids, comic books, & Guinness Stout

[wryter2000]

58. DU and Air America Radio

Plus, I'm getting the feeling that the repugs have over-reached in a big way recently. I'm not so sure about that one, though.

[AzDar]

60. My 2 gorgeous sons , DU, and a lotta Xanax........eom

[CantGetFooledAgain]

61. Bill Maher. Maureen Dowd. Seymour Hersh.

Hendrik Hertzberg in the New Yorker.

...and just about everyone on DU. Intelligent, funny people that are absolutely mortified that things have gotten to this point.

Finally, anyone and everyone fighting against election fraud and for 9-11 Truth.

[emcguffie]

62. right now, the dogwood. But it doesn't last long. n/t

[Swamp Rat]

63. Objectifying the insanity through art

[meti57b]

64. cats

[spuddonna]

65. Watching Capra movies...

The moral of the stories are all the same: it is the common man who can make the most profound changes in this world!!

As a bonus, I can watch 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' and imagine that Delay or Hastert will pull a Claude Raines and admit what lying weasels they are right on the Senate floor after a good filibuster! lol ah, good times...