Taking a break from the news
The First Law is that you can be, do, and have whatever you imagine. The Second Law is that you attract what you fear.
~Neale Donald Walsch
For about a month now peddlers of panic and despair, sometimes known as TV newscasters, have been saturating the airwaves with visions of envelopes of anthrax, vials of smallpox, dirty nuclear weapons, Osama Bin Laden, terrorist cells in the U.S., the Taliban. In the rush to sell a few cars (and, perhaps, a lot of Prozac), the national media is helping to foster a kind of uneasiness, a sense of foreboding, and a loss of self-confidence that those who wish us ill never dreamed of creating themselves.
And some of our national leaders are adding fuel to the fire. One day I’m told that my life has changed forever, the next that I should get back to normal. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says that the government is in control of any possible bio-terrorism in the U.S. Later, when a few more envelopes of anthrax show up in the mail, it becomes obvious that he’s either in denial or obfuscating. President Bush exhorts me to get on a plane, go to the mall, and buy more stuff. But Vice President Cheney is sequestered in some undisclosed location, and the FBI and CIA warn of imminent major terrorist attacks.
In the midst of all of this, I’ve been somewhat depressed, humorless, and irritable with a little general malaise thrown in for good measure. So I’m bringing it to a halt. After a month of this gibberish from TV, radio, the Internet, magazines, and newspapers, my wife, Shonnie, and I are undertaking a five-day news media fast. No more CNN. No more All Things Considered. No more Drudge Report or Common Dreams on the Internet. At least not for five days.
You see, I believe that we become what we think about most, in this case death, destruction, pain, and suffering. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that one should entirely avoid such matters. Nor am I suggesting that we walk around unconscious of what’s going on around us. But if I’m thinking about all of the malevolence that’s being reported in the mainstream media much of the time, there’s little room left for hope, for what is really important to me. I lose touch with my vision for myself, for my community, for my world. I find that I don’t take time to send loving thoughts, prayers, and energy into the world. I miss the opportunity to take actions that could have an impact on the current situation.
And if I’m embroiled in the victimhood—believing that I’m at the mercy of outside events—that is being promoted by the media and demonstrated by some of our leaders in Washington, I’m not taking responsibility for myself. I’m blaming my condition on someone or something else.
We have little or no control over what life sends our way. Two planes crash into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and another into a field in Pennsylvania, and thousands of lives are lost. Anthrax is sent through the mail to folks, and some become ill; some die. Fear. Shock. Grief. Anger. All appropriate human responses to such events.
But the questions now are these: Will we buy into the continuing reports of gloom and doom from the media? Will we imagine worst-case scenarios and scare ourselves into apathetic stupors? Will we support whoever promises to fix it for us even if that means the erosion of our basic liberties? Or will we tame our thoughts, step through our fear, and take responsibility for ourselves and the way we live our lives, even in the midst of the chaos and confusion?
You have complete control over how you will respond to the events that are unfolding on your TV screen. You may choose fear, Cipro, gas masks, and separation. Or you may choose love, freedom, and connection with others. The choice is yours. It always has been.
Saturday, October 27th, 2001No Comments »
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