Screw the economy

I’m so tired of hearing about the economic meltdown and the stimulus plan ––the endless yammering by every news outlet is getting downright tedious. So I avoid radio and TV. It’s just one blue news story after another.

Yes, the economy is derailed and no one knows where it’s going. The uncertainty has made for sleepless nights and the need for antidepressants. (Both are showing an upturn in sales these days.) Suddenly, your friends are given the old heave ho and the 8.1% unemployment rate seems mighty personal.

Screw the economy and the stimulus plan, I say.

• Just keep doin’ what you’re doin’. This mess isn’t our fault and we don’t have much choice but to get up every day, go to work, keep the wheels of commerce moving. Try to help friends find jobs. Find opportunities where you can.

• Let the big boys untangle the mess. It’s not our fault, but sometimes it feels like you’re being punished. The playground bully just swiped your milk money and you’re going to have to make do with what you’ve got. The good news is that there are plenty of watchdogs on the playground these days. I’m pretty sure they’ll keep their eye on Tim Geithner and the Wall Street brokers.

• Focus on things you can control. For starters, begin with your day-to-day environment. I’m not talking about housekeeping. I’m talking about your personal space. Your apartment. Cubicle. Your little personal paradise. Is it your place of refuge where you can escape the world? The NYTimes had a nice little article about a design makeover.

They challenged 5 interior designers to spend about $300 to makeover a room for “5 people who had recently lost their jobs and were beginning, by their own accounts, to go stir-crazy at home.” A nice way to prove that remaking your space can improve your outlook.

Unemployed or not, one of the fastest ways to beautify your world is to hang something lovely on the wall. Something that makes you feel good every time you look at it. Art is an affordable luxury – you don’t have to spend a fortune on it.

When the world around us seems uncertain and grim, a visual reminder that there is joy and beauty in the world can make you feel happy.

Here’s an additional bonus: When you buy original art – whether it’s a photograph, drawing or painting — your money goes to the artist instead of to a faceless corporation. These artists will, in turn, put that money into their local economy. It’s the trickle up effect!

Start today. Here at Viewville, we happen to be partial to photography and think that we’ve got a pretty impressive selection of work by national photographers. Get out there and look at some art or browse our Viewville offerings and when you feel that emotional connection. Screw the economy. Buy it!