I can so relate, @riverflows, and I so let myself go WAY too far down that rabbit hole as our election got inexorably closer last year.

At the same time, I had Riverside's latest studio album, Wasteland, on heavy rotation, which is an album about the changes in the world and their possible outcomes with America governed by a madman . . . and let's just say that listening repeatedly to an album about one's own nation and world self-imploding, with daily news about a criminally stupid and culpable national leader actively trying to make it all happen, is NOT a good recipe for peace of mind and good mental health.

Which is a big part of why I've disappeared from Hive of late, as I managed, despite KNOWING better, to thoroughly depress myself, to the extent that I was having trouble simply functioning, much less writing about it all. And the biggest problem is that I lost my ability, largely, to simply sleep.

I don't recommend it. 

I can say that things have gotten better, and that with the criminally stupid imbecile out of office things are beginning to look a bit brighter, but we still have SO far to go.

Having a president once again who not only has empathy for others, but can actively READ and LEARN is a godsend, as is simply flatly ignoring my newsfeed for a few weeks. 

And it is comforting to know that I no longer have to worry about our president playing nuclear chicken with Kim Jong Un, not to mention Iran, which depressed and distressed a LOT of people, and quite frankly it's rather nice to be back to having a rather boring president, who doesn't create a new scandal every waking hour of every day.

And equally frankly, it was lovely, since I haven't even checked on Hive recently, that literally the first story on my feed was yours, and that you're still actively posting and working to make the world a better place, albeit imperfectly as we all do. Thank you for being you, and for all you do, which I appreciate greatly.