Overdosing on doom

Sierraville, CA

Two headlines that just hit my newsfeed...

The WHO says the next COVID variant will be more infectious than Omicron, and it might be more deadly

Russia moves troops and U.S. sends weapons as fear of war mounts in Ukraine

It’s too much, you guys. Seriously. 

We’ve been doing the things. We masked up as well as we could. A ton of us got vaccinated. We’ve canceled holidays and funerals and weddings and church services and just plain old dinner parties and coffee dates. All of us have been putting life... On hold. 

We’re tired... We want release... A light at the end of the tunnel… Something. 

And what do we get in our newsfeeds?
This.

Quick question…

How long have we been living with algorithmic news? Not very long, really. But also, judging by mental health numbers in the Western world, too long.

I think a lot of us are overdosing on doom and we don’t even know it.

On top of ANOTHER Covid variant, now we have a looming WW3. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda done. I want to put my head in the sand. Order a venti oat milk latte. Watch a Hallmark movie. Hug my kid. Chop some firewood. Go snowshoeing with my wife. And just... Tune out. 

I have to remind myself (and maybe you could use a reminder as well)... It’s okay to turn off the vast digital marketplace that profusely profits from pinging my lizard brain and scaring the hell out of me. 

I’ve done an okay job of drawing boundaries with my social media feeds. It’s the algorithmic news that’s bringing me the most dread these days. It pokes the part of my psyche that makes me want to play god. The part of my mind that slithers up and tells me that I know exactly how to stop a global pandemic. It seduces me to constantly refresh my newsfeed just to see if a nuclear projectile is headed our way so that I can... What?... Duck?

I need to pray here right quick...

Dear God, thankfully
I am not you.
Yes, I can go bring my neighbor some flour.
I can clean the hot tub.
I can help my wife hang artwork around the house
just a liiiiiittle to the left.

But this stuff in my newsfeed... Just... Ugh…
Take it from me, God.

Holy God, I pray that you shove my head in the sand
that you sedate my frantic scrolling thumb
the one that refreshes and refreshes and refreshes.
May you smooth my frayed nerves
and calm our collective neurosis. 

It’s just too much, Lord.
Just too much for any human soul.

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Editor’s note: It seems that WW3 has been averted for now. I’m sure another crisis of equal magnitude will soon find its way into our newsfeeds soon, though. 😣