Day 78 - Enquiring Minds Do NOT Want to Know, Thank You Very Much

Well Dear Readers, as many of you know, my hubby left yesterday for Japan. As in on the verge of nuclear catastrophe Japan. As you can well imagine, I am not at all happy about this. HE is not at all happy about this, but it would have been career suicide to refuse to go. So here we are: he is safe for now, and I am systematically polishing off jar after jar of almond butter.

All joking aside, this whole situation brings me to an interesting place. I am a worrier by nature - I fixate endlessly on the troubles of the day, real and imagined, and have been known to literally make myself sick ruminating for hours on "what ifs". Some fears are legitimate, and some border on complete lunacy; but it often seems like, if I don't have something to worry about, I'm missing something. That's messed up, ya'll.

Now, few of you would disagree that I have reason to worry right now; but strangely enough, I feel okay. Why? Denial, pure and simple. Or is it acceptance? Hard to tell. I realized that my worries are completely impotent in this situation; they are not driving me to productive action, and there is not a thing I can do to change anything. We bought life insurance, talked about what would happen if he didn't come home and made a plan, said everything that needed saying, and now... we wait. And pray. More noteable is what I an not allowing myself to do, which is check the news endlessly. This brings me to todays topic: reducing my news media consumption.

I gave up local gossip - I mean, news - a while ago. Honestly - what good does it do me to hear about every blessed fire, mugging, affair, rip off, etc. in New York City? And WHY is half of this stuff (Charlie Sheen?!) on the NEWS? It's not news folks, it's entertainment. And news media figured out long ago that we can't get enough of the bad stuff - ever wonder why you never hear about the amazing people doing extraordinary good in your community? Catastrophe sells. Scandal rakes in the bucks. Fear is big business.

With that in mind, I am being extraordinarily selective (especially now) about my news sources. Ever feel like it's impossible to get the truth for all the hype, sensationalism, and slant? Me too. And how do I strike a balance between being informed and news overload? How much do I really need to know? After giving it a lot of thought, here's what I came up with:

- no checking news over the next two weeks. If it's important I'll hear about it.
- if (when) I can't take it anymore and DO check the news, I will choose a non-American international news source to reduce the sensationalism (may make an exception for NPR)
- once Marty his home - I refuse to consider any other outcome right now - I will listen to international news from the BBC while I'm getting ready. If there's something I'm particularly interested in or wish to know more, I can easily find more sources online (from both conservative & liberal sources - the truth must be in there somewhere)

What I wish for myself is a broad understanding of important world events, and detailed information about issues within my immediate sphere of influence. Right now, the topics under the microscope in our home are isues of consumption (where our clothes and food really come from, going "green" and what that really means, frugality and thrift, etc.), parenting, and immediate community concerns (preserving local programs, the state of our neighborhood, and so on). Kind of a "think globally, act locally" dynamic.

So I hope you will all pray or think good thoughts for Marty's safe return - that, at least, is something we can do.