I’ve heard those words frequently in the last several months, “The world is burning.” It’s easy to feel that way. There’s a lot happening in our world. Problems are many, solutions are few. And many feel helpless.
As a former new junkie it’s easy to fall back into the news cycle that regurgitates the same stories filled with anxiety and strife. What if the news channels provided a balanced view with equal measures of both good news and bad news?
What if the headlines rushing across your screen also read, “Young Walter Nursed a Squirrel Back to Health.” or “Jim Brown Shoveled His Neighbour’s Driveway After Wild Winter Storm.”
We miss a lot of the good news by focusing on the bad. It’s natural, it’s human. We are drawn to anxiety riddled click baity headlines. What though, is it doing to us? To our psyches? To our ability to find joy? Especially when it is front and center constantly and consistently.
I know, this thought process may not sit well with many people, but it is a thought I wanted to share here.
Since we are atoms, perhaps we are undergoing the process of fission. Read more about Fission, Fear, and Finding Equilibrium on my latest Substack here, if you’d like to dive deeper.
And let me know what you think. Have you been hearing a lot about our burning world lately? And how do you cope with it? How do you find equilibrium in a world that feels like it’s burning?
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That anxiety filled news is how they keep us coming back. Joy, kindness, and empathy unfortunately are not attractive to the majority of the people these media sources are trying to reach. I try to tune out on a regular basis now. Besides, it’s the same thing they repeat all day so just watching one is enough to get you updated on all the crap going on around us.
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Excellent! Yeah, I just stopped watching the news, that fixed the problem. Reading the newspaper is much better. You get the “world is on fire” news but with some context, so it’s balanced, and then you can read other subjects like science, culture, etc. I read the paper in the morning and then focus on important things for the rest of the day. That’s what balance looks like in my world.
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That seems like a good way to balance it Edward. Not too many people read a newspaper anymore. Most news comes through hyperbolic headlines. Though, as you say, reading the paper provides better context and other sections to enjoy. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
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You’re very welcome, my friend. Sometimes we need to go old school to fix modern problems.
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Love this call for balance, Alegria. So badly needed. Our nervous systems are overloaded by what’s constantly bombarding us!
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That’s so true Wynne. A lot of it is hyperbole and it deregulates our nervous systems. No wonder there is such an enormous rise in people reporting anxiety. This and other factors. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.
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one can’t survive in the darkness – sometimes the light is faint but that just means one has to look harder to find it and then help amplify it if possible.
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That is an excellent point. I do love how you’ve expressed it. Thank you for being here.
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Well, when hasn’t the world been burning? I know things are bad. But there’s also good. I don’t want to be Debbie downer 24/7, so I’ll choose to be a pragmatic realist
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Absolutely my thought process too, pragmatic realist. There is both bad and good in our world, best to approach it with a balanced perspective I think. Thanks for reading EA.
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