Golis: Finding shelter from the violence and gloom

It's been a tough few weeks, hasn't it? Terrorism. Racial conflict. Shocking violence. The persistent animus emitting from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The prospect of more of the same when Democrats gather this week in Philadelphia.

Every day, politics in America seems to become more toxic. Sometimes, we worry, hate and fear are winning.

Here in Santa Rosa, a young man who lived on the streets was stabbed to death, and last week the Santa Rosa City Council made plans to declare a homeless emergency. Among other things, new rules would make it easier for people to sleep in their cars. Staff photographer John Burgess' photo showed a mother and a daughter, two dogs and four cats who have been living in their car since April.

Communities in Sonoma County have been slow to focus on the housing needs of people who have less, including the working poor, and now it shows.

If you are depressed by the news of recent weeks, it's only because you're alive and paying attention. People use words like discouraged and heartsick. I can't watch anymore, they say.

News people can be hard-boiled about bad news. It comes with the territory. Still, I find myself seeking small ways to reconnect with people and push away the gloom. No doubt you have your own remedies. Here are some of mine:

Turn off the relentless noise of cable news and take a walk in the neighborhood. Use the opportunity to say hello to the people you encounter along the way. Friends or strangers, it doesn't matter. Given the chance, most people want to share their best feelings. As we go, we learn about the lives of our neighbors, and they learn about us. We feel connected.

Write down the things for which you are grateful. Family, good health, good friends? Did someone mention chocolate? When scholars study the feelings that make people happy, that word - gratitude - shows up all the time.

Volunteer. On a recent morning, our group of volunteers produced 300 meals for people who don't have enough to eat. Sonoma County, after all, is renowned for its volunteerism. When we volunteer, we rediscover our own good fortune, and we honor a hometown tradition.

Take a ride on your favorite back road and be reminded that you live on one of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes on earth. On a south-facing ridge of Coleman Valley Road last week, we stopped to share a world-class view with three cyclists from Los Angeles. Redwoods, hilltops of summer straw, fog slipping over the horizon - at this moment, it was magic, and it was all ours.

Turn off your smartphone. OK, I'm not very good at this. But I did it. As almost always happens, I didn't miss a damned thing. Instead I paid attention to what was happening around me. Know this: With or without a smartphone, the bad news will find you soon enough.

Take a walk on the beach with the most important person in your life. You happen to live near an ocean. Why wouldn't you take advantage? Get your feet wet. Dig a hole in the sand. Watch a puppy splashing in the (gentle) surf for the first time. We did. It was wonderful.

Remember all the good things that happen and celebrate the legacy of those who came before us. When we stopped for lunch in Bodega Bay on Thursday, along came an old friend, Lucy Kortum. Kortum, and her late husband, Bill, led the fight to protect the Sonoma County coast from runaway development. A few hundred yards from where we sat, PG&E would have built a nuclear power plant, except for the opposition organized by the Kortums and their friends. Imagine how different the Sonoma coast would be. Imagine Bodega Bay living under the shadow of a giant cooling tower.

Some will find my diversions to be simplistic and old-fashioned. Maybe so. But I'm not sure how else we re-connect to our shared humanity and to what people can accomplish together. What are the other choices? Yelling and screaming? Getting drunk? Assuming the fetal position and pulling the blankets over our heads?

We cannot banish the horrific news of recent weeks, or those terrible events yet to come. We can hope for the day when people stop using political, ethnic and religious differences as pretext for violence.

Simple pleasures and simple acts of kindness matter, if only because they remind us that decent people are going about their lives every day. In doing so, these people prove their determination not to let fear and hate win out.

Pete Golis is a columnist for The Press Democrat. Email him at golispd@gmail.com.