Pollia Condensata plant

News is stressful.

Hatred. Violence. Tragedy.

All proclaimed to us nonstop from television, smart devices, word-of-mouth, newspapers or magazines.

How can we cope?

Pick one:

Develop a la la la . . . don’t worry . . . be happy attitude – Just keep right on skiing, visiting Disney World, fly-fishing, electronic game playing, reading gossip mags, etc. with the attitude that all politicians speak with a forked tongue, so why bother voting? Don’t get involved in causes, whether political, religious, or humane because you darn sure know none of that makes a difference anyway. Why waste your time or money? Limit your television viewing to The  (empty-headed) Kardashians, reruns from the 50s and 60s, or the latest, hottest reality show because everything else is just so silly and boring.

Become a news addict – an amazing profession for those who never let bad news sink in more than one-eighth inch into their psyches or spirits. Here’s how it works: You listen. You regurgitate everything you’ve heard *the more horrible, the better* to anyone who will listen. Having done that, you have done your part, feel enlightened, and are ready for the next zillion hours of bad news to report to your hapless friends and family.

Tune out with Positive Methods:

  • Become a Tibetan monk living on a cliff.
  • Become a priest/nun working in a leper colony.
  • Become an underwater spy living in a one-man sub doing subterfuge espionage for the government.

 Tune Out with Negative Methods:

  • Overindulge in any or every thing: food, alcohol, drugs, gossip, hoarding, daytime television  . . . you name it.

OR you can . . .

Be informed without total absorption – No one said you have to take in a 24/7 dose of news. For example, I like to watch or read a weekend review of the top stories rather than take in a daily dose. I never watch the late night news because knowing a little child has been abducted, or a handicapped veteran burned to death in his home, aren’t the kind of stories I want to sleep with.

Be involved in a healthy balanced way.

  • Educate yourself about politicians who run for office and then vote. Every vote, every time . . . makes a difference.
  • Find responsible causes that line up with what you feel is important in this world. Then go ahead, open your heart and your wallet.
  • Limit  your television/small screen time. Up your reading time. Engage in social functions that have real people really interacting. Balance that with your on-line social media interaction. Balance = harmony.

Be grateful – appreciate what you do have rather than what you don’t have. Be glad for your family and/or friends. Realize that life could always be worse, but it isn’t right now, so for heaven’s sake, enjoy the now! The simplest things can bring pleasure if you have a grateful heart.

Find things that amaze. That photo up at the top of this blog is a little something I ran into today – the Pollia Condensata plant. It almost blew me off my chair! I wouldn’t be surprised if it nearly blew some scientists off their petri dishes.

Here’s the deal. I love carnival glass, a man-made iridescent glass created from metallic salts and heat. The exact same look was created by nature  from the interaction of light with the plant’s skin, which contains layers of microscopic cellulose fibers. Tell me that isn’t cool.

So, news, political unrest, lying, criticizing be hanged. It’s there. We need to know what is happening in the world around us. We need to care and be involved. Yes, we do. But we also need to raise good kids, read, read to someone else, eat good food, enjoy music, write novels or poetry or essays. We need to look around at the beauty of our world, not just the chaos and dissension of miserable people who aren’t happy and who don’t want anyone to be happy.

It all boils down to choice. Will you let the worries of the world weigh you down, make you depressed, behave obsessively, or worse? Or will you realize that this is your one life and you must live it multi-faceted with honor, integrity, and fun? You decide.

How do you cope with the unsettled feelings you get from most news reports?

Arrow

Your opinion matters to me.

Just for fun . . .

 

 

“Why wasn’t I more careful about my media use?”

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