Maybe it’s leftover PTSD from 2016, but I’m surprisingly reluctant to look at any news until tomorrow morning.
It gives me extra motivation to get to bed early — with my book — making it the perfect night for this meme.
Election? What election?
Vote and also let your light shine
It’s been so busy this past week that I almost missed voting today.
I finally filled out my mail-in ballot and dropped it off at the voting center in North San Juan right before our 6:30 pm rehearsal. That’s definitely cutting it close!
The concerning thing is that I had a moment late in the afternoon when it seemed useless to vote, and I was tempted not to make the ten-minute drive to drop off my ballot. It made me realize that I was being affected by the negativity and cynicism that is so prevalent in our world right now. This got my attention!
It also renewed my commitment to vote and made me determined to pull back even more from reading the news. Doing so pulls down my energy and makes it that much harder to be a positive force for good in the world.
Then, with perfect timing, a friend shared this quote from her guru, Amma:
Don’t be discouraged by your inability to dispel all the darkness in this world; just light your one candle, and let it shine.
Well-informed vs sane
A Facebook friend asked the following question in a post on his timeline:
How are YOU maintaining a positive perspective?
This is how I responded:
Not easy, but these help: limiting my intake of news; listening to uplifting music; singing; walking; meditating.
Not even an hour later I happened across this cartoon, which absolutely nails it! This is exactly the challenge that I feel so many of us are facing.
But I’m realizing that I can’t simply ignore the news altogether. True, I need to stop reading it with the goal of “making sense” of things; I mean, that way lies madness!
So, yes, I have to do my best to sort through the false, sensationalist, crazy-making narratives. And then I have to choose carefully which articles to read, being prepared to stop as soon as I feel my energy plunge or if I start to get upset or depressed or sunk in negativity. Because I can’t be part of the solution if I’m upset, depressed, and negative!
But you know, I think the main reason why I still need to read some news is a matter of solidarity. I don’t want to cut myself off from what’s going on. Sure, I have to honor the limits of my tolerance for violence and despair, but I need to tune in enough to feel connected with the rest of humanity as we move through these unprecedented times…together.