I’m back from a blissful week away with a writer friend, very little news and no social media. I returned to numbing cold, the Iowa caucus, t*ump’s voice on the news (again), public school workers being screwed over (again) and a level of disarray and dysfunction that makes me yearn for a few weeks of an imposed shut down. I don’t want another pandemic but I want more quiet.
I am:
unsubscribing from senders.
saying “no” when asked for more.
setting crystal clear boundaries.
actively time-blocking my days.
responding to your text when I can
getting in and then back out of Instagram.
limiting my news.
And still my head feels like it’s a top! Spinning so fast that I can hardly catch a breathe. The rub of it is that I am dialing back. But the information is coming so fast and thick that I can hardly see the next “can you____?” request. Can I:
sign the petition?
give money?
meet this candidate?
jump on a call?
share this action item?
send an individual email?
ask for money?
shop the sale?
pass the word about this event/opportunity/program/need?
Complicating the “can I” requests is the “silence is violence” message. So of course I need to do something, otherwise I’m complicit, right? (That accusation hits different as a sexual abuse survivor.)
But here’s the other thing: on top of all of this, personal tragedies (fires, deaths, illness, loss) are still happening. So are birthdays and celebrations. Thank you notes should still be sent. Friends still need support, love, dinner, words of encouragement, recommendation letters. People still need to be held accountable. And my kid still needs my attentive, present mind and open heart. So does my husband.
So tell me dear one- is your head similarly exploding? How are you managing? What’s weighing in you? Let’s be in the muck together.
I feel this! I haven't been on social media since last summer, and it has greatly improved my life. But I also needed a reset for tasks and obligations, so yeah, unsubscribe, time blocking, phone away during most of the day and turned off early at night. Presence + accepting the limits of time and energy = slightly more sanity. Slightly!
I feel this! I haven't been on social media since last summer, and it has greatly improved my life. But I also needed a reset for tasks and obligations, so yeah, unsubscribe, time blocking, phone away during most of the day and turned off early at night. Presence + accepting the limits of time and energy = slightly more sanity. Slightly!
Thanks for weighing in here, Julia!