As The World Turns

I’m not talking soap operas here. 

When your heart is broken and your world is shattered in a million pieces, it's hard to imagine how the world continues to turn as though nothing has happened.

One of the best decisions I made after Jon’s death was to stop watching the news. As I had my own tsunami unfolding, I simply couldn’t bear the weight of the bleak and devastating news billowing as truth. While I had always believed it was my moral obligation to know what was going on in the world outside mine, I had begun to realize the weight of it upon my tired shoulders. I simply couldn’t bear my own grief and that of the world’s at the same time. 

In hindsight, I had been a news junky. It wasn’t uncommon for me to have the news blaring in the background as I drove, worked, exercised or rested. It empowered me in some way to feel that I was “informed.” The truth is, the news doesn’t empower or truly inform us. It disempowers us. It provides a reason to metaphorically crawl back under the covers where it’s safe and warm, where we can escape the madness. It is literally designed to keep us hooked, bewildered and controlled, much like the advertisements we endure between the nonsensical madness. It seeps into our bones, the veins of our organs, poisoning our minds and depleting our energy, therefore our lives.

Eighteen months later, I can say my life is simpler, more enjoyable, less stressed and certainly more peaceful as a result of not digesting the dreadful news every day, all day. If I want to know what the weather is, I look outside. If I want to know what the idiots in Washington are doing, I watch the ticker tape at the gym. Nothing really changes. It’s the same story with a different headline - the story of the demise of our world and how powerless we are against it.

I no longer feel overwhelmed by things I can’t control. I no longer get angry or shout vulgarities at the disgraceful acts people commit against one another. And, somehow, I don’t miss the Breaking News. Trust me, if there is something I need to know, someone will tell me. People love to share. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m still a firm believer that we need to have a good understanding of what’s going on around us. It helps prepare us for what’s coming our way and keeps us compassionate. I’m simply saying that watching the news morning, noon and night is a time and energy suck. Like it really sucks the life out of ours. 

While the world keeps turning when yours has turned upside down, take a break from the news. Use that time to look within, soothe your aching bones and tired soul. Read. Write. Seek grace for your troubled soul, watch a movie, take a walk, talk to a friend. Or take a nap. But, for the love of all things, tune out the madness. Yours is enough to endure.