It’s almost Thanksgiving. But unlike most years, my heart is not full of gratitude, but sadness. My friends and family, my neighbors and fellow citizens are all on edge. Everyone is feeling something, but no one is listening to one another. We are all hyper aware of our own pain or anxiety, our own fears and chaos. Yet our interactions have us all screaming. The noise is deafening and the pain is real. It’s like a stomach bug that goes through a home. Everyone is throwing up and no one is healthy enough to clean up the vomit. We are all sick.
Sadly, our media just keeps the sickness alive. Media outlets have a relentless economic drive to feed our sickness and keep us coming back for more “news.” We become addicted to our brand of “truth,” which only feeds the anxiety and fear.
Sadly, our social media brings this sickness closer to home. Social media hooks us on thinking we are “gathering” together to “share” our lives, when reality is, social media is making things worse. We spout off without thinking and say things to our “friends” that are hurtful and hateful. We “unfriend” people because we can’t handle a different perspective. All of this shows how sick we are and how shallow our relationships are.
If you are filled with anxiety and fear; if you find yourself lacking peace and patience; if your friends and family say things that make your blood pressure sky rocket, you have the media stomach bug. Rather than stopping and healing, we keep stuffing our faces with media and social media wondering why we are not getting better.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can choose to get well.
I challenge you to turn off the media and social media for the next 14 days. Turn off your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; your CNN, NBC and FOX News. Leave your cell phone in your pocket and your TV off. For 14 days purge yourself of the things that heighten anxiety, fear and hate.
Fasting from media will make you more grateful and more peaceful. It will allow you to hear the people around you and maybe even hear from God.
Signing off so I can hear and help, not hinder and harm.
...Joe Henseler 