It hasn’t been easy the past few weeks.
Like many people, I feel as though I’m drowning in an excess of bad news. Social media exacerbates the problem, constantly highlighting various crises and spinning them in the worst possible way. The news may in fact reflect real crises in the world, but it’s present and unavoidable in a starker way than I can ever remember.
Plus, social media itself is addictive: It’s a vampire for your attention, designed to keep you clicking, informed by theories of attention capture created by slot machine manufacturers and honed by game designers.
My family is also on my mind. The 9-year-old has behavior issues we haven’t been able to correct, and the 15-year-old is, well, 15. Both are awesome kids but can be emotionally wearying. It doesn’t help at all that many of the news reports I’m most worried about bear directly on the present safety and future wellbeing of my children.
So like many people, my attention is fragmented, my concentration broken, and a slurry of dire news reports and family worries swirl around in my mind like jagged bits of shipwreck in a stormy sea.
I’m going to try working my way through this with the skills I know best: Writing and editing.
And also, probably, by swimming. Running. And maybe meditating.
I’ll report on what I find, once a day, for the rest of this month. Things you can expect to hear about: Writing. Reading. Mindfulness. Swimming. Being a dad. Creativity. And making a difference in the world.
Tune in if that sounds like something you’re interested in. You can follow me on my website or on Medium. And please do get in touch if you have something to add.
