Stillness 5-17: When I diligently make sure I’m kept informed about what’s going on every day, sometimes it feels as though heavy big balls of information are coming at me and hitting me hard on the head. After a few minutes of just glancing at the headlines, I feel pummelled black and blue. It’s not just Zoom fatigue we’re facing: it’s bad news fatigue. It’s a constant “ouch—ouch—ouch.”
Maybe it’s time to dodge the ball. Take a break. Walk away from the headline game, and explore some different outlets. Here’s what I’ve found out simply by a little digging:
People are ingenious. A student of education for the deaf, Ashley Lawrence, has been making masks that include a transparent band that shows the lips of the speaker, which allows for lip-reading.
People care about animals. Many animal shelters, some which had been in dire straits because of the pandemic, are actually running out of adoptable pets because people care enough to give them homes.
People are generous. A couple left their stimulus check as a tip at a steakhouse recently.
You can fall in love no matter how socially distant you are. The BBC reported how one couple met each other during lockdown from across balconies, then connected via social media. This romance actually happened in Verona, Italy, no less.
There are dozens of stories about how our environment is being impacted positively by what’s happening. I saw a gorgeous photograph in the Hindustan Times of thousands of flamingoes flocking to the lakes in Mumbai, awash in pink.
These stories–and hundreds more–bring us back to centered stillness. We remind ourselves we are free to walk away from a ball game that’s very unhealthy for our heads and instead grow steady in our hearts. We remember that—along with everything else—the world is good, it’s beautiful, and it’s true.