Saturday, March 21, 2015

None of the News is Fit to Print



When Brent died, a fellow widower recommended I eliminate from my life any TV shows and/or movies of a dark, emotional or intense subject matter as well as certain music and the daily news. For some time I got used to simply enjoying the silence, being quiet and focusing my thoughts on beauty, friendships, poetry, joy and my beloved Lord - who is the author of LIFE.

This is not pie-in-the-sky, ignorance of the world around me, but rather an intentional choice to soak myself in peace instead of angst, getting to know who I am, rather than listening to the cacophony of competing viewpoints, terror and tension of a world gone mad. For what else is reported on the daily news than horrific acts and extraordinary evil?

I missed absolutely nothing.

How, really, do any of us benefit by being externally stimulated to horror or anger or whipped up into a frenzy of activism? We can spend all of our emotional energy trying to change the world, or shut down out of despair that we cannot change the world, or numb ourselves by over-consumption of mass-market entertainment, but in the process, no matter the choice, we completely drain ourselves of any capacity to affect our own life or the lives of those right beside us.

What do you need to say "No" to today so that you can say "Yes" to your own responsibility and capacity to live in peace?




Photo: Carburn Park, Calgary, personal collection

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