What to do in the face of hopelessness

2024-10-22 · Ho Chanh Nghia

Originally published on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-do-face-hopelessness-khanh-pham-hmllf/

What to do in the face of hopelessness

I seek refuge

The Buddha said to seek refuge in yourself, but I outsourced it to the temple instead. and the Monks said to go seek refuge in myself.

So I searched within myself, and my inner self said to google it. Here is what I found that was helpful in stroking my pain, and comforting my suffering.

https://www.glamour.com/story/best-revolution-songs

One could argue that the soundtrack to America is Black music. For hundreds of years (401 years, to be exact), protest, resistance, and art have intermingled to produce revolution songs that give voice to the disenfranchised. In America, pop music is inextricably linked to the Black experience in this country—from the field caller music sung by enslaved Africans to accompany their backbreaking (and nation-making) labor, to the sounds from #BlackLivesMatter protests trending on TikTok right this moment, there’s no denying the fact that America’s social, artistic, and political landscapes owe a huge debt to the Black artists who gave voice to generations.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1WAygPnYahD4rJt32xMcKt

800 songs of protests and resistance listen in safety

https://youtu.be/tErLm_NPufs?si=JVORCvb5TDZyx8J_

this is the exact video that kept me from killing the 1,000 coworkers who had sworn an oath to defend the USA against foreign and domestic enemies. But rather act as the enemies of the USA instead.

https://youtu.be/fKy7ljRr0AA?si=cGR1Ca9B4XaTY6c6

Mr Roger advice to children: when I feel so angry I could bite, I don’t have to.

Made a complex situation simple. Mr Roger cared about children. He started caring with $30. The United States has come a long way since caring about children.

Everyday, when my son is upset, and angry and wants to throw things, or bite. I remember Mr Roger and I remember the USA/Israel and genocides. – what is going on with these human?