Overwhelmed by the News: Caring Without Drowning

How do you care about what's happening in the world without it dragging you under? Practice first, news second. Then do one small thing and put it down.

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The night I broke my neck, I only had to get through the next breath. My family were stood in the corridor with nothing to do, not knowing if I'd see the morning. That's the harder seat, and now we're all sat in it, every day, on a phone. Our hearts were built for a village, not 24 hour news. After the Boston bombing, people who watched six hours of coverage a day were more stressed than some of the people who were actually there. I'm a terrible news junkie myself, so I talk about the feed I keep deleting and putting back, Sid Owen from EastEnders, and why the brain can't tell the telly from a war zone. Underneath the anger there's usually a deep caring. The way through isn't caring less.

One thing to try: Before you scroll in the morning, sit quietly for ten minutes and write a small gratitude list. Then read the news, let yourself feel it, do the one small thing if there is one, and put it down.

In this episode(0:03) The night I broke my neck, and my family in the corridor(1:31) Our hearts were built for a village(2:07) The Boston bombing study: six hours of news a day(4:50) The brain can't tell the telly from a war zone(6:14) Caring without drowning: what you can do at arm's length(7:32) Under the anger there's a deep caring(9:51) Rabbi Tarfon: you can't finish the work, but you can't walk away(10:55) Thomas Merton and the frenzy of the activist

With gratitude toTamsyne, Bridie, Orsolya, Paul, Ciaran, Cynthia, Sarpa, Jens, Linda and Genevieve

The companion meditation: When the News Is Too Much: A Meditation to Care and Still Rest

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Thank you for listening.

Steven

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