From Newsflash to News Fast

In grade 6 I went for a sleepover at my friend’s house. It would have been a great night, had her parents not shown the movie, Friday the 13th! I came home the next day, frightened out of my tree. I was so scared that I was terrified to step outside the front door, in fear of being hunted down by a guy with long bloody nails and a hockey mask. Granted I grew up without TV, but this one video haunted me throughout my entire youth.

Today, we all know how graphic the news is, especially visual news that often has horrific photos that no one should be privy to. I recently snuck a peak at the front page to see ‘breaking news’ of the dismembering murderer and the Eaton’s mall shooting.

You may think you’re desensitized to it, but I guarantee that this toxic information is contributing to your life in very real and subconscious ways. When we are constantly exposed to traumatic news, we create emotional networks of fear and distrust. Despite our disgust, we’ll still be drawn to it because we have memorized these feelings in our systems.

Like an addiction, it takes discipline to change our minds and starve the part of us that is sickly drawn to negative media influences. Just as we learned on our first two wheeler bike to reverse the direction of our peddles in order to stop, we need to change directions in our minds, away from the negative toward the positive.
When we’re preoccupied with the horrors of modern life, we miss exquisite moments like the one I shared with my girls last night; lying on the grass gazing up at the sky, knowing all is well with the world.

The next time you’re lured into hearing about victims of violence, press on your breaks and go do something nourishing. Whether it’s reading an uplifting book, cuddling with your dog, listening to the crickets or making love, do something that dremches your soul with grace and goodness.

Jenny

Photo by: Martin Jardine