Yikes. The world's in a pretty bad state... Well, f**k it, and relax.

DISCLAIMER to E+: Please excuse the sparing use of (censored) profanity in my post; it's relevant.

I invite all of you to read a book by John C. Parkin called "F**k It". Or, you could skip that, and next time you notice yourself fretting in confusion and anxiety over the state of our good Earth, say "f**k it" and let it go; the Earth knows what it's doing. Sometimes, this might even mean sitting down with a big bowl of ice cream in front of the *gasp!* television, and putting your life plans for that off-the-grid organic farming yoga coop on temporary hiatus.

The point is not to abandon ideals or belittle worthy pursuits. The Tao-y thing about it is, when you can give all those things you're striving for so passionately a little more space, and you take things just a little less seriously, they often seem to work out more harmoniously than when you were trying so damn hard.

This doesn't even make rational sense sometimes. But if you can learn to relax into life instead of viewing everything as an endless struggle against Babylon, the state of things doesn't seem quite as terrible. In fact, everything starts to seem more as it should be.

And maybe this approach won't work for you at all, and screws things up even more. If that's the case, at least you'll learn some sort of valid life lesson which you probably needed to learn anyway. If you realize that you're actually capable of steely self-discipline and prefer it to taking it easy, that's great! The key is finding your own balance.

I invite you to say "f**k it" every once in a while to all that ugly turmoil going on, and relax. Feel free to skip a day of meditation. Eat a big, red steak. Do you feel yourself getting close to enlightenment? Go to an action movie. Or pursue something that draws you even though you feel guilty because it doesn't seem like something Jesus or the Buddha might do. Do whatever the hell you want for a change.

It may sound selfish or foolish or apathetic--it certainly did to me, at first--but it may be just what's needed right now--for yourself and the world.