Yesterday I unplugged from all news media outlets and social media. All day. A full 24 hours. It was our normal weekly Sabbath day, but this kind of fast isn’t usually a part of my practice. It might become a regular thing.
Here are a few random observations after going off the grid for a day:
1. I didn’t miss out on anything of vital importance. Even hearing a day late that schools in our state are now closed through May 15th didn’t really change anything. Not for today. I wouldn’t be doing a single thing differently today had I heard that yesterday. Turns out nothing happened that was all that urgent.
2. Things got worse outside, but things got better inside. Sure enough, without me paying any attention at all, the current pandemic worsened pretty much across the board. Yet my own anxiety was notably lessened. I was happier. I felt lighter. I may have even gotten close to being joyful. Turns out worrying about things beyond my control really won’t add to my life, but not worrying about them very well might.
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
(Matthew 6:27)
3. Things also got better outside—without my involvement. Checking in on the news this morning, both local and international, I noted a few bright spots. From improvements at ground-zero in China to local efforts for food distribution ramping up. And I had nothing to do with any of it. Checking out for a day is a good reminder that in grand scheme of things I am really not that necessary.
4. Paying less attention to people far away enabled me to pay more attention to the people in front of me. There is something undeniable about the power of proximity that ought to make it our priority.
5. Checking the news and social media has become my liturgy. Consider “liturgy” little more than a religious word for “habit.” Liturgies and habits are essentially the same: They are automatic patterns that form us. When fully set, we engage in them automatically, like breathing; they make us who we are. Yet not all are healthy. This “liturgy” of checking in (how many times in an average day?) only ramps up my anxiety. It merely fills my mind and heart with more information than I can process, more knowledge than I can act on, more bad news that I cannot affect for good.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
(Ecclesiastes 1:18)
It turns out that less news is good news.
How often do you check in to the news or social media? What has been your experience of unplugging for a time?
