Hello World,
Today’s world is crowded by news and usually it’s about the bad and the ugly. How do you deal with this load of information? Do you find yourself rushing for it, absorbing more than what you can take in? Do you feed your fears with it?
I have come to a point where I rarely listen to news and hardly read the articles’ content, it’s merely about the headlines to get a grasp of what’s going on.
It all began with my beloved country of birth which was taken by a destructive regime that brought the country to a depth I could never have imagined. At that time, the country wasn’t doing great but the fear and anger I felt were more linked to a sense of helplessness. Not only was I watching the destruction of the country but I could foresee the direction of a dictatorship. And there seemed to be nothing I could do to stop it, except maybe open as many eyes as possible by spreading the word about the big lie many were buying into. Back then, newspapers were publishing quite distorted facts compared to what we knew was really going on. So there I was, reading all the articles that were published, being very utopian by replying to the publishers, thinking they were blinded by the theoretical speeches of the then president. I would read, listen and seek for every piece of information, worrying about the next level of this government madness and liaising with my family to know the “truth”.
Slowly I was consumed by fear for my relatives and hopelessness for this country that had once great potential. During one of my visits, way before the country reached its darkest hours, I realised that people didn’t seem as affected as I was. They were living their day to day, dealing with the situations as they occurred, taking action where they could. Together with the overload of news, this immobility was what was dragging me down. And there it was, news had taken over my life and my emotions were affected by them. No matter how happy I was in my life, news were ruling my feelings. I had to consciously decide to put a break and set limits on how much I agreed to take in. I continued taking action where I could without letting the news consume me.
This is just an example. There are many ways news can affect us. This constant connection to the outer world, even though it comes with its share of benefits, tends to cut us from our real life. We’re overloaded with negative information that is not always a good description of how real events occurred and what’s really going on. And most of the time, there’s no real action from our side that could make any difference. News can feed our fears, give us a false sense of connection and awareness.
Be conscious of your environment and how it impacts you, know yourself and your limits, and set appropriate boundaries to keep a life well balanced. Take a break, put your phone down, observe and see how beautiful the world can be. Take a chance to experience life, observe what’s happening around you, see for yourself the hidden treasures of life. And if you want to learn something, make sure the information is accurate. And finally, if there is something you dislike, take action to remediate. A drop in the ocean is still the best you can do!
Breath in the good, breath out the bad.
Have you ever thought about how news affect your life?
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