Some might call it an addiction. I’m a daily user and I can get it 24/7: News.
Updates roll in round the clock. Public radio posts the number of killed innocents in Ukraine. The New York Times reports on 30 million people in refugee camps. Should I miss anything, there’s always a podcast to educate me on the Afghan girls banned from education after 6th grade.
So much news. So much bad.
With each sad story a tiny bit of energy drifts out of me. Soon it’s the sort of malaise one feels from excessive Instagram scrolling seeing seemingly everyone sipping espresso in Sorrento. It’s subtle, but the downward energetic shift is undeniable.
It’s ironic that I allow my attention to travel around the world to take in troubles. Born into a family of eight children, my family is large. Living in the community I grew up in, my friend circle is even larger. I can hear news of a cancer diagnosis or a struggling child on the regular.
It’s time I admit I’m not traveling to give aid in Afghanistan anytime soon, but that my cousin who’s on the brink of entering hospice could probably use my support. If I want more energy for doing something about the bad news I hear, I can’t allow my vitality to seep out of me nonstop.
I’ve stopped reading the details of every crime story and I’ve cut back on my Sunday morning paper routine. Along with reducing this vitality drain, I’m looking for energetic boosts. I’m on the hunt for good news.
A local 11-year-old girl makes it to the national spelling bee finals; I cheer. Our parched earth gets a great rain that’s not a flood; I rejoice. The FDA a new drug with life-saving potential; I applaud. I search for stories that inspire rather than those that take me down a path of powerlessness.
I’ll still read the headlines and take in enough to be an engaged citizen. But I’ll do it with a bigger dose of humility, hoping to remember that being informed or outraged is not the same as making a difference. Rather than being a depleted expert on global crises, I can be a more honest human and give my attention to those I love right here, right now.
And that would be good news.
How do you balance the news you take in?
How does it affect you?
Does news deplete your energy? Inspire you?
1 Comment
This was one of my New Year Resolutions. Thanks for reminding me of a much needed “mid course correction”.
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