There’s a lot going on out there. It’s hard to sift through all the noise and know what to focus on. It’s hard not to be overwhelmed. People say to focus on your own stuff and not let all the negative news drag you down but it feels like some of the things happening are important. How do we know what to ignore and what to see as important?
War with Syria
Trade war with China
Russian interference in the election
Gun control & school shootings
Global warming
Plastic in our water
Health insurance & health care costs
The national deficit
Police shootings
Racism, sexism, MeToo
For profit prisons & the criminal justice system
The consolidation of wealth & power
The corporate shift to take care of the shareholder instead of the employee
Are you freaking out yet? How are we not freaking out? That list could go on and on. What do we do with all this information? How much should we be worried? Should we take action? What kind of action should we take?
Madeleine Albright is on TV warning us about fascism. Are things really this bad? How do we know if things are any worse now than they’ve ever been? Someone else is probably writing about this. I could do any internet search and probably find an article in an academic journal that is well researched comparing how bad things are now to other points in human history and then I’d know if we were really on the brink of something terrible.
I didn’t even list any personal things just big picture topics. What about all the personal headlines we have going on in our lives?
Job stress: could be more work with a promotion or worrying about getting laid off
Money: bills, trying to save, unexpected expenses
Health worries
Chores: just finding time to do the dishes and laundry isn’t easy
Family issues: could be just raising kids, dealing with a spouse or something bigger
Are things worse than ever? I don’t know. And if they are I can’t undo it anyway, but I’m still forced to deal with all these stories and all this information. The amount of news available to us no longer has to fit into a thirty minute evening news broadcast or a few pages of the daily paper. We are seeing news on multiple websites, in emails, in text messages, on the radio, and on social media. It is almost impossible to stay away from it.
How do we sort through it? We have to decide what even matters to us. Then we have to decide what to do about it. Not just what we think we should do but what we can actually do. If things are worse now than ever and we’re on the verge of a fascist take over of America or the over heating of the planet, then I feel like I really should be doing something! But if things were always like this and we are just more aware of it now then I should still do something, right? I can’t just sit back and not try to help make a positive change about what’s going on with school shootings (I have kids in school) or global warming (I live on the globe). But there’s so much going on, how do I decide what to do?
We take in all this information. Dealing with it is like a full time job. Sorting it out, prioritizing it, deciding what to do about it and if we can even do anything. There are so many things happening and we are so entrenched in how our society operates that it’s impossible to act on all these things. We can not all stop going to work and create a revolution.
It’s more than overwhelming. And I come back again to our personal stories and headlines. Most of us have a lot going on already in our lives without having to convince legislators and other Americans that it’s not ok to have kids shot in school or that maybe the healthcare system should be about providing healthcare instead of about providing a profit to shareholders. I feel like I should be doing something.
I think of one friend who I’ve discussed these concerns with a few times in a near panic. He has always calmly informed me that he just tries to do the best he can in his daily life. He acts in his immediate surroundings. And he actually does. He isn’t just talking about it. I try to help people at work. I try to be of service. But is that enough? Does it count if I’m at work?
Finding a balance is difficult. It takes a continuous effort. Once balance has been found something changes or moves or shifts and the balance is gone and we have to move or change or shift too. Balance is not static. It is not achieved and then held on to just as it is. It is in flux. Just like balancing on a skateboard or surfboard or bike, you don’t just stand on the board or sit on the bike. There are little adjustments constantly needing to be made.
And there’s more than one balance to be found. There’s a balance between how much we care about all this information and what action we take. There’s a balance between what we think is real and important or fake and unimportant. There’s a balance between what we decide to act on and what we don’t act on. Between the big stuff and the personal stuff. Between the have tos and want tos. Between caring & paying attention and freaking out over the enormity of it.
How much to worry about these big issues and what kind of action to take is what I get hung up on.
I don’t have answers to all the questions I’ve asked here (Ha! I don’t have answers to any of these questions) but I do know that my balance won’t work for you. Your balance is yours. Ignoring all these things going on seems like a bad idea. Freaking out and becoming paralyzed by it all seems like a bad idea too. Being aware, keeping our eyes open, trying to find a balance and trying to take some action seems like a good idea. I wonder if doing the best we can in our personal lives is enough or if we really should be participating in the big stuff going on.
Postscript: That guy I mentioned above who just tries to do good in his own life…This is what he’s up to: https://www.goodnightlights.org