We have been watching the atrocities being committed on both sides of this new war. Or rather an old feud in new times. Social media has been able to spread the support of Ukraine rapidly and the descent of leaders in Russia faster than a wild fire on a windy day. The news keeps us “informed” with the rhetoric of their choice as they have always done. Anyone forget about what happened in Afghanistan, or the Gulf war, or the recent pandemic war? What was the name of that illness that was a global threat again? Whatever happened to the monster hornets, or the politicians’ infidelities, or the riots or what ever was going on a few years ago?
Can you remember ? I certainly cannot. Why? Because our nervous system is constantly being reprogrammed with the latest sensational story to keep us on the edge of our seats. There always will be something to entertain our dark side and lead us to watch the news or stay connected on media as all these digital tentacles hold us to our fears.
WE will always be on the brink of a collapse of some sort. Economic collapse or the housing bubble, or perhaps an asteroid coming to wipe us out. We are perpetually the hamster on the wheel controlled by the stories created by others. Humans are emotional creatures and so ever easier to control. Dial up the news and we are glued to it, tune it down their ratings drop.
When we stay in our fears of our fantasies of how life should be or reside in our nightmares of how life was, we become emotional and are easily swayed by the opinions of others, especially the mega force of the media empires as they war over our attention. If we search for truth in the news it is akin to trying to searching for love in the arms of a prostitute, or searching for nutrition in a chocolate cake. It is not their job.
The reality of the present is as it is, not as we want or hope it to would be. There will always be an external stimulus such as sugary or salty foods, blue screens, video games, news, social media and so many other sensory modalities that harness our dopamine levels that keep us prisoner to our illusionary lives. We jump or hop from one stimulus to the other, as we attempt to keep our hormone levels dangerously high and then we wonder why we are so stressed out and why our bodies fall prey to disease.
It is wise at times to unplug and take stock of the world and life at large from a different perspective and see how in each moment there is a balance.
What was that disease we all faced since 2020? I do not remember, I have to go watch the Boston news, I heard millions of flying spiders are coming to the northeast in May.
“ If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed, if you read the newspaper you are misinformed” Mark Twain.
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I love you
