My reading continues, of heavy psychology books moreso than current events. The few news bits I’ve gleaned include that people have repeatedly shot at one of Kamala Harris’s campaign offices, it’s increasingly likely that Russia will use nuclear weapons, climate catastrophes abound globally, and the Canadian House of Commons is spending its time on multiple non-confidence motions.
I can’t do anything about any of that. I tried. I burned out learning that the issue isn’t that politicians don’t know, it’s that they don’t give a shit.
So I’ve mainly been reading psychology, and what’s really sticking with me is how other people react to seeing harm: the people whose role is to protect, but who turn away and refuse to listen; the people who are paid to help but don’t ask the question because the answer could mean work; the people who knowingly cause harm and refuse to stop.
It got me thinking about role models, because of course we learn this behaviour somewhere. We learn how others think we deserve to be treated, and it affects how we see and treat ourselves and others.
What I keep having to relearn is that while I have very little influence over anything else, I can choose to treat myself better than what I was taught. New poem: Role Models.