How do you stay inspired during uninspiring times?

[PrettySquareGal]

This is my attitude -- what I like is so much more interesting and AMAZING than those stupid "in your face" women's magazines crap that they don't even register on my radar. I just see something really lame and not part of my world. Not worth getting bent out of shape over. What we like is 1000 million times more fun

I think it's important to respect that we all have our own "buttons." Those magazines don't get me "bent out of shape" so much as annoy me when I can't avoid seeing them which means they ARE in the world in which I live. There's only so much "la la la my little world" can drown out...

But I get what you're saying. I do overlook as much as I can...

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yeah, I try to do that too, but there are days and there are times when it just takes one more glassful of stupid to push me over the edge.

I actually got so frustrated at one point in my life that I went to see a therapist. He listened to what I had to say, told me I needed to learn to relax, and handed me a bill for $150. It was all I could do not to hit him over the head with a floor lamp.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

My trigger is crap "mall clothes." Poorly designed pieces of garbage made to make *me* feel like *I* have the problem! HAHA! Nothing will put me in a worse mood than trying on mall clothes. I used to get "depressed" because I believed I had a mis-shaped body, but now I just get angry because the clothes are just crap! I avoid buying mall items unless absolutley necessary. I make my own and I also stick to a few items that I know fit me and actually look good on me. They are rare, but they exist!!

 

[scottyrocks]

I live my life by my standards despite so much of the insipidness that goes on around me. I put it all in its place with an old experession some of my riding friends used to use that sums it up pretty succinctly for me: "Sometimes you just gotta say, 'WTF!'"

 

[AmateisGal]

My trigger is crap "mall clothes." Poorly designed pieces of garbage made to make *me* feel like *I* have the problem! HAHA! Nothing will put me in a worse mood than trying on mall clothes. I used to get "depressed" because I believed I had a mis-shaped body, but now I just get angry because the clothes are just crap! I avoid buying mall items unless absolutley necessary. I make my own and I also stick to a few items that I know fit me and actually look good on me. They are rare, but they exist!!

Oh gosh, I can't even begin to count all the times I've come home depressed from trying on clothes at the mall!

Just to clarify, when I said I "put my head in the sand", it doesn't mean that I become a doormat or don't keep my chin up to everyone around me. It just means I pretty much block out everything bad and wrong with the world for awhile and live in a bubble of nostalgia for a few days. Then it's back to reality.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Yeah, I try to do that too, but there are days and there are times when it just takes one more glassful of stupid to push me over the edge.

I actually got so frustrated at one point in my life that I went to see a therapist. He listened to what I had to say, told me I needed to learn to relax, and handed me a bill for $150. It was all I could do not to hit him over the head with a floor lamp.

:eusa_clap

 

[Undertow]

One of my favourite escapes is to read The Complete Sherlock Holmes or to watch the excellent Granada Holmes series with Jeremy Brett, of which I have all the episodes on my computer...

I often watch the Brett series to completion for a relaxing evening (someone purchased the series for me one xmas). I also enjoy reading and rereading the complete collection at night. Of course, this is not necessarily a response to modern life; it's just something I've always done since I was a kid. I guess I've always been a sucker for the Sherlock stories.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh gosh, I can't even begin to count all the times I've come home depressed from trying on clothes at the mall!

All it takes is for me to set foot in a mall and I start thinking I've somehow been transported to an alien world. That's actually the only way I can really stand to go to a place like that -- to think of it as an expedition into the darkest corner of a hostile civilization. Indiana Jones ain't got nothin' on me.

 

[Undertow]

I've found an interesting correlation between the "vintage" mindset and the reduction of modern comforts. Let me expand a bit (I'll try to be quick!):

Having been inspired by my maternal grandparents, and also partly raised by them for a number of years, I've found myself drawn to the clothing, values and ethics they admired. Hard work, mend-and-make-do, humility, generosity, scholarship, etc.

When I stopped watching television, I found more time to appreciate things like classical literature, or old records. A lack of money meant I refused conveniences like air conditioning and cell phones. I put that saved money toward useful things that would last me - nice Red Wing boots, a nice pair of Dickie's jeans, double-edged razors, metal fans, etc.

In fact, I'm not a modern person gone vintage - I feel like a vintage person disguised modern; that is, it would seem to me that all people possess the means to care for themselves according to "vintage" standards, but they choose to poison themselves along the road by partaking in misogyny, or mindless consumption, or wanton violence.

My point is that with the reduction of modern conveniences, I've naturally slipped into some of the same or similar habits as my grandparents. I find it's relatively effortless, save for the typical passing comments I garner; e.g. "Are you in a play?" or "Wow, why are you dressed up like it's the 60's?" (The '60's? I mean really? No one in the 60's was wearing these lapels, or hats with brims this wide, and certainly not these ties...)

So what inspires me? I guess living daily by the mend-and-make-do motto, as well as a seemingly inherent drive to live sustainably without the assistance of someone, or something else.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

Lots of practice at learning to tune out the obnoxious nonsense the modern world (media mostly, of course) continually hurls at us. We ditched cable so now have many fewer channels of drivel to wade through. Only one tv in the house means when we do watch, it's a conscious joint event. I can't bear to have television blaring as background noise all day; it remains off unless the fella and I decide to find a netflix movie or have a quick check of the local news. 99% of what the media wants to offer me has no bearing on my life so what's the point of cluttering my head with it?
I don't wear vintage clothes all the time, but make an effort to only own and wear classically inspired pieces rather than cheap & trendy. For instance, there are no sweat pants in my wardrobe, but the other day I found some absolutely darling wide-legged polka dot silk pajama/lounge pants on great clearance at Anthro. How can I not feel a sense of Garbo elegance whilst swooshing around the house in them?
One of my big constant inspirations is music. In the car I listen to a martini station that popped up here last year. It's so wonderful to tool around town belting out all those old tunes I know by heart. At home I often have a retro internet station playing. (Yes, I could and sometimes do play records, but I really enjoy the spontaneous surprise of a radio station, never knowing just what I'll be hearing). For instance, just now I'm lounging in my grandparents' old metal chairs, under a huge magnolia tree, watching birds at the feeder, cat in my lap, dog at my feet, listening to Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, Noel Coward & catching up with FL via my kindle fire.

 

[C-dot]

Avoiding the television is a must - the world is not going to change just for us watching it, and all that it seems to do is reel off the latest health scare or celebrity gossip (or lies about world events, but lets not go there...there, see, starting to grrr already, and that's just talking about it).

Just now I had a chat with our delivery man, and he mentioned that people who watch the news and really feel downtrodden by it should remember that it is less for information now than it is a business. The salacious details of crimes, the health crises, and sensationalist gossip make better "news" than the facts, and sales/ratings are the keys behind good journalistic business. He's so right!

I agree with others that a sense of humor, finding respite in art and good reading are helpful and therapeutic. But sometimes I get downtrodden about it and yes, angry.

I understand this so completely, I could have written it myself!

The thing that drives me the most insane about modern times is, as someone else mentioned too, our litigous blame-game culture. I see it all the time at work (labour law), and while at times it can be funny there, when it comes up in my personal life I find myself spitting fire. Its at the point where I can't really even watch Judge Judy anymore, which was one of my favourite shows, because I will practically burst a vein in my forehead getting so worked up about how ridiculous people can be. I understand that the show was meant for these people, but it still gets my goat - shows how close to the edge it brings me! I get an almost uncontrollable urge to shake one of these people and shriek "get on with it!!"

 

[scottyrocks]

The thing that drives me the most insane about modern times is, as someone else mentioned too, our litigous blame-game culture. I see it all the time at work (labour law), and while at times it can be funny there, when it comes up in my personal life I find myself spitting fire. Its at the point where I can't really even watch Judge Judy anymore, which was one of my favourite shows, because I will practically burst a vein in my forehead getting so worked up about how ridiculous people can be. I understand that the show was meant for these people, but it still gets my goat - shows how close to the edge it brings me! I get an almost uncontrollable urge to shake one of these people and shriek "get on with it!!"

'Reality' TV, the entitlement culture - I tune it all out as much as I am able. It is all insulting to my intelligence. And I'm no genius.

 

[AmateisGal]

'Reality' TV, the entitlement culture - I tune it all out as much as I am able. It is all insulting to my intelligence. And I'm no genius.

I keep hoping the "reality t.v. bubble" will pop, but so far...nothing. More and more inane shows keep appearing, and the devolution of our culture keeps on chugging...

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

I keep hoping the "reality t.v. bubble" will pop, but so far...nothing. More and more inane shows keep appearing, and the devolution of our culture keeps on chugging...

Don't expect it to any time soon; everything's about the bottom dollar, and without having to pay writers and actors, 'reality' programs are a great deal cheaper to produce. It baffles me how the viewing public can continue to be interested in these contrived shows featuring a cast of 'everyday people' who all look, think, act, and speak alike, but there you go. I'm equally aghast at the ads I've seen for summer comedies coming to the theatre - what a huge load of inanity.

 

[LizzieMaine]

We aren't as far from "Ow! My B*lls!" as we think we are.

 

[AmateisGal]

Don't expect it to any time soon; everything's about the bottom dollar, and without having to pay writers and actors, 'reality' programs are a great deal cheaper to produce. It baffles me how the viewing public can continue to be interested in these contrived shows featuring a cast of 'everyday people' who all look, think, act, and speak alike, but there you go. I'm equally aghast at the ads I've seen for summer comedies coming to the theatre - what a huge load of inanity.

I agree. It's a lot cheaper to do these reality shows. What makes me sad is that the History Channel has stooped to the reality show level instead of producing actual history shows. Their new tagline is, "History - Made Every Day" or something inane like that, which, yes, history IS made every day, but c'mon.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

^^^ That's one reason our decision to cancel the cable came so easily. I began flicking through the channels I enjoyed several years ago, and, other than TCM, I realized they had all become parodies of themselves. I have no interest in conveniently set-up episodes of pawn shop treasures, storage bin diggers, garage surprise finders, history re-enactors, particularly when it's clear everything about the shows has been cut, clipped, arranged, edited, and no doubt even scripted, to fit an anticlimatic climax conveniently into a 23 or 46 minute time slot. The same transparent formula over and over and over again.
Not to mention hearing the trite shocked expression of "Oh my God - dude!" was beginning to drive me out of my mind.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I do love ME-TV so I can watch The Brady Bunch, That Girl, Family Affair, Bob Newhart and other sitcoms. I need to stop rubbernecking when I flip through the channels; sometimes I stop on a "reality" show with my mouth agape and eyes crossed trying to take it all in because they're so incredulously inane. Next thing I know 30 minutes have gone by and my eyes and mouth are sore.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Just now I had a chat with our delivery man, and he mentioned that people who watch the news and really feel downtrodden by it should remember that it is less for information now than it is a business. The salacious details of crimes, the health crises, and sensationalist gossip make better "news" than the facts, and sales/ratings are the keys behind good journalistic business. He's so right!



I understand this so completely, I could have written it myself!

The thing that drives me the most insane about modern times is, as someone else mentioned too, our litigous blame-game culture. I see it all the time at work (labour law), and while at times it can be funny there, when it comes up in my personal life I find myself spitting fire. Its at the point where I can't really even watch Judge Judy anymore, which was one of my favourite shows, because I will practically burst a vein in my forehead getting so worked up about how ridiculous people can be. I understand that the show was meant for these people, but it still gets my goat - shows how close to the edge it brings me! I get an almost uncontrollable urge to shake one of these people and shriek "get on with it!!"

I'm certain that most contemporary TV has given me wrinkles and headaches! I need to do parental controls for myself, I think, so I have only the channels I like!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Avoiding the television is a must - the world is not going to change just for us watching it, and all that it seems to do is reel off the latest health scare or celebrity gossip (or lies about world events, but lets not go there...there, see, starting to grrr already, and that's just talking about it). The only thing I watch now are historical documentaries or selected drama from decades ago (Brett's Sherlock amongst them ), and I simply do not understand the attraction of the likes of Jeremy Kyle and his ilk. Oh dear, there I go again!! See, its bloody insidious (if you'll pardon my french).

The rest, I think, comes from a love of things of yesteryear. Not just the interest of an academic or a voyeur, but an actual love of old things. When you can feel the history that they have seen, the craftsmanship that went into them (rather than just a 10,000 kerplunk/day factory press churning them out), it slows you down and gives you a connection back into the eras of humanity that are largely dark to majority of people.

Cats also help (I've been known to wake up with the neighbours cat asleep on the bed!) as does a good scotch or cognac, and a book (dear god does anyone understand the attraction of the "Kindle"?!). The most relaxing thing though is gardening - being able to get out in the sunshine (or even just the gloom if I can get a fire going in the brazier - I wonder how much depression we see today is down to the loss of real fire) and get the dirt under your nails is so therapeutic...and then when the vegetables are ripe there is nothing finer than sitting in the garden with a pint, eating tomatos and onions straight from the raised beds ).

Interesting comment about fire. I'm not into gardening because I hate dirt and bugs. But I do get outside a lot. I also love to sit in my sunroom and listen to my a.m. portable radio.