After the election and the ensuing flurry of opinion vs. fact foisted upon us, it became too easy to worry about the future.
As a journalist, of course I must keep my finger on the pulse of American society. But to be continually obsessing over the results of the election, the next tweet and the next appointment is fruitless at best.
As a yoga, breathwork and meditation teacher, I have decided self-care is the most important thing, for me… right now. To be continually watching cable news or listening to talk radio is to not actually be receiving the news in all its needed, factual accuracy, and let it absorb for a moment without immediately ingesting the next piece of information. As someone who has worked in media for my whole life, I can take a step back and say it’s become a never-ending loop of the same stories. All of the loud swooshing sounds and bright, flashing graphics is enough to make any sane person check out. It can be traumatizing for the most sensitive, to say the least. Quite frankly, if you’re a news junkie like me, now may not be the best time to mainline all that is happening.
The country looks to be entering a new era. So, what is best, tune all the way in, keep abreast of things as they come, then release them… or overconsume? I’m going with staying abreast.
I am reading with my eyeballs, so many blogs from historians and long-trusted journalists, older and wiser than me, some of whom have been through many administrations. This has calmed my frazzled nerves instead of watching with my eyes, or listening with my ears.
Constantly getting pinged by news alerts, and feeling called to visit various news apps and social media sites, is not a healthy place to be. It has been proven that social media sites feed your darkest appetite by serving you exactly what may become yet another loop, which can lead to never-ending angst (and consequently health problems).
The day after the election I removed all news alerts from my devices. I read enough to know what’s going on. Many friends and family members are feeding it to me too, even from other countries. I am asking my people if they are okay and asking what their opinions are of society. I am placing myself in nature, dancing, exercising and and practicing my yoga and meditation without fail. Movement is medicine.
Yep, I’m a newsperson, and proud of that and the business I have built. But I must pull back sometimes for my own sanity.
Last week, I removed all social media apps from my phone. Wow, it’s amazing how much time one can devote to content that feeds the soul and doesn’t send us into a tailspin if we’re not glued to our devices.
After January 20th, 2025, I get to decide how many news alerts I should pay attention to, and which apps need to be reinstalled, or not. But one thing I know for sure, right now, is to reach for a little slice of peace instead.
