Now that the New Year nobody wanted is officially upon us, and “2024”— a number that some of us find as ominous as “666”— hangs over our heads like a snarling gargoyle, the question I posed at the end of my last article gains especial relevance:
…what should one resolve to do in 2024, in order best to mitigate the inevitable psychic reverberations that accompany being forced to live through “interesting times,” and protect our minds, souls, and hearts from harm?
To be clear, I am hardly a guru or an expert on spiritual health. “Physician, heal thyself!” one might in fact retort to my presumption to cover this topic at all, to which I might in fact reply, “That’s actually exactly what I am attempting to do…” That is to say, my main addressee here is myself; though if anyone else is aided by my counsel, that would be wonderful, too.
I have listened occasionally to a certain traditionalist Catholic priest, Father Chad Ripperger (yes, his first name is actually “Chad,” and it suits him perfectly). When asked about avoiding “occasions of sin” (i.e., instances of temptation), particularly when it comes to the deadly sin of Lust, is to “take custody of your senses.”
By this, he simply means to avoid doing with one’s senses that which would lead one to sin. If, for example, you find yourself on a nude beach surrounded by a horde of college cheerleaders and a bevy of Victoria’s Secret models, simply keep your eyes lowered. If you are in a room with a group of friends who are watching a pornographic film, and for some reason you are unable to leave the room, then close your eyes and cover your ears; in so doing, you will shield yourself from that which is likely to arouse licentious thoughts. (These are not specific examples that Ripperger has cited, but they are in line with his general teachings on this matter.)
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To protect one’s psyche from potential harm in a year sure to be full of upsetting, enraging, depressing, discouraging, morale-destroying, despair-inducing stories floated on social media and all across the internet, I believe one should employ a similar, if not identical, strategy. That is, one should “take custody of one’s senses,” in order to avoid the temptation to get dragged into the infernal mess and flaming shitshow that the 2024 presidential election is sure to be.
Perhaps one should shun social media and the internet completely. Perhaps, in fact, one should sell all of one’s belongings, buy some land in a remote location, and live entirely apart from society whilst composing an anti-technology manifesto on an ancient typewriter.
Barring resorting to such extreme eventualities, however, one can simply avoid scrolling social media sites, or visiting news pages. One can still go to YouTube channels or websites that are reliably non-political, and one needn’t even necessarily quit cultural commentary outlets altogether, so long as these sites are reliably non-topical and not in the least “newsy.”
As November draws ever-nearer, however, it will probably become desirable to accelerate the extent of one’s withdrawal. By that time, after all, it will be nearly impossible to avoid election talk; such talk will be everywhere, across all forms of media, so at that point— say, when Vote-like-your-life-depends-on-it-and-if-you-don’t-vote-then-what-the-hell’s-wrong-with-you??? (as “civic-minded” types will inevitably scream at you with ever-greater pitch and frequency at around this time)-Day is about a month away— it may be worthwhile to switch one’s media repertoire exclusively to audiobooks, old reruns from the 70s and 80s, or other reliably irrelevant, and non-newsy fare.
Once the Glorious Day of the Vote has finally taken place, that does not mean that the longstanding nationwide trauma will be over, quite the contrary! There is in fact no telling how long the post-vote era of Sturm-und-Drang, wrangling and wrath, rages and recriminations, will last. If there are recounts, or lawsuits, or demands for more recounts, followed by more lawsuits, followed by “mostly-peaceful” riots, etc., then things will likely grow even more intense and ugly than they had been prior to the actual election.
To be extra safe, it would probably be best not to tune back in until around the final week of January, 2025. Things should be wrapped up by then. Then again, the imposition of martial law, and a coup d’etat might just be looming on the horizon. Followed, perhaps (if we are lucky) by a Russian invasion. But hey, we’ll burn those bridges when we get to them.
Happy New Year! Remember, take a cue from the good Father Chad, and take custody of your senses in the months to come. Stay sane, balanced, and internally harmonious in 2024, and forever hereafter.
Andy Nowicki is the author of several books, most recently The Insurrectionist and Muze, as well as the soon-to-be published The Rule of Wrath. Visit his YouTube channel.
Father Chad has a lot of good things to say. I’m also a fan.