.png)
When we were younger, the morning news had a different meaning than it does now.
Perhaps you and your family sat around the breakfast table, munching on cereal or pop tarts, scrambled eggs, a steaming cup of coffee in your hands, (whatever constituted as breakfast in your household), and traded pieces of newspaper between the sections. Maybe someone preferred the Business section, another the front page, and all the headlines. Maybe you shared giggles on the latest cartoons on the funny pages.
Maybe you read the paper in school, on the train, waiting for the bus, or at the office.
Maybe it was even delivered to your door in the morning or you picked it up on the way.
That was probably all the news you heard that day until you turned on your radio at some point during your commute home or watched the evening news before bed. For most people, it was not a steady stream of news all day.
With the evolution of technology, the internet, smartphones, social media, we are bombarded with an endless cycle of news. With increased globalization, it could be news coming out of far-reaching places in our world with no connection to you, or as immediate as what's happening right now in your area.
Often we’ll engage with opinion pieces or heavily editorialized articles that fly in the face of what we know to be true; a rage-inducing experience- which is often the cause of much of the fighting you’ll see on social media.
At some point, news channels and social media also picked up on the fact that they could hijack our nervous systems to their benefit- providing a constant stream of bad news edging towards catastrophic- because they figured out that for us to maintain some internal sense of safety or sense of right, we’ll keep tuning in or clicking on that link.
There we find the cycle of feeling unsafe or overwhelmed with indignation and therefore needing the news to make sure that we are up to date by the second on what is happening in our world, so that we can be aware, alert, and prepared or part of the fight against what we deem as injustice.
Typically, that can be understood as catastrophic thinking right? Because always knowing the news doesn’t really make us safer. And fighting on social media or reading things that make us rageful doesn’t help develop a dialogue to resolve an issue or advance a cause we are passionate about.
All this gets worse in wartime and when we don’t feel safe in our environments.
For many Jews in Israel and around the world, our updates from the news can keep us safe in a warzone, or when there is unpredictability regarding the reality of our safety.
So many of us during the last couple of months have been bombarded by news on an hourly basis (if not more) and it’s become so difficult to look away.
Because we need to know what's going on.
We want to keep our families safe.
We want to stay connected to our people and land; a conflict that we carry in our hearts.
We want to bear witness to what's unfolding around us.
These are all so valid and important right now. Perhaps there is a way that we can develop a practice in which we engage with the news we need and also be mindful of how we are internalizing it or experiencing it.
Here are some suggestions on how to develop a personal practice that can help anchor you when engaging with the news:
Choose a trusted source whose goal isn’t to overwhelm you. There are many different channels, WhatsApp groups, social media sites, etc, with lots of different styles. Find one that's a comfortable fit for you.
Set a kavvanah (intention) around how long you are going to engage with that content. If you find you often get lost in reading or watching, maybe setting a timer can be helpful to you.
Remember to breathe: it's common to hold one’s breath when reading or watching hard things.
Consider doing a little body scan now and then: am I holding tension while reading? Am I clenching my jaw, is my back tight, my heart racing? When you notice that you are holding the news in your body, take in a deep breath and let that oxygen flow to that place that is holding all that tightness or heaviness. When you breathe out, let the tension go with the exhale.
Engage with kindness… to yourself: When you are finished and come up for air; do a quick assessment of what you might need right now.
News is an essential part of this modern world we live in. It’s important to remember, that we have control over the way we consume and engage with media. Being intentional can help anchor to get through these challenging times.
Comments