Information Junkies

I have been struggling with a topic to write about, more too many things than too few.

I was thinking how easy it is to fall into a world of your own making and remain there for an entire lifetime, that safe little me place to count on and treasure. As the world explodes through all sorts of mediums, we become aware of a good many more things that are often scary and hard.

The world flies at us full tilt. We can know everything all the time. Just how are we going to deal with it, and where will we put those big files that download automatically, and find a way to make sense of it?

My melancholy mood is NPR inspired, perhaps, which I listen to on the drive in to work. In very succinct terms they tell the story of how dangerous and pivotal the world has become. I am more informed, but less happy, as I try to humanize the sorrows that wear thin my sense of optimism and hopefulness. It in turn chips away at the emotional compass and intellectual immunities that I rely on to maintain a healthy sense of balance.

When a resilient spirit is exposed to raw data and instinctively responds with the conditioned sense of responsibility that Americans feel as the peacekeepers and conscience of the world, it can quickly become a personal crisis. We identify with the situation, as with the greusome murder of that little Hasidic boy this week that kept me up nearly all night. It could have easily been my son, I know, and but for the grace of God was not.

As the pressure builds, I recognize the need to rehab myself to break free from being an information junkie. I've half a mind to curl up in a throw and spend a week with everything turned off except my thoughts and a 500 page novel. There's a little mini vaca a couple of weeks away, and that's just what I'll do.

I can see why we draw back into our little homes and lives, and reacquaint ourselves with small insignificant purposes that are manageable. It nourishes and strengthens the spirit.  To be able to carry on is the thing, and copious amounts of information make it increasingly harder to do.