Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Tuesday Slice: Observations on the week past

1.  I had a conversation with a friend who was lamenting over the state of our country, based on the news and social media she consumed.  While I agreed with what she was seeing in the news, I reminded her that the headlines did not show the whole picture of our country, the day-to-day acts of compassion and kindness that I see around me.  

 I was reminded of something I read in one of Christiane Northrup's books decades ago--we are not physiologically capable of handling constant negative news without negative effects on our body, mind, and spirit.  A downside of this Information Age is that we are inundated with news which doesn't directly impact us, over which we have little to no control.  My friend was having a hard time walking the fine line between staying informed and feeling overwhelmed.  I told her to read the headlines, ignore the talking heads, and take a break from the news every now and then and use the time to pay more attention to the good stuff that was going on.  

 Here's a more recent article about the negative effects of too much news consumption.

 2.  I was referred to as "grandmotherly" this past week, for the first time ever.  It was meant as a compliment, and I took it as such...but it gave me pause.  I felt like I had just been invited to a secret circle, one crone acknowledging another, marking me as a woman of experience.  Trying on this new identity may take a little while, but I'm enjoying the process.

 3.  I've "adulted" fairly well this week.  I participated in an online workshop about money, got kudos from my doctor at my annual physical, presented some professional development, and prepared to present a bit more.  I caught up with an old friend, the kind with whom three-hour-long conversations go by in a blink.  I spent quality time with my college-boy.  I'm setting my big goals and forming action plans.  I'm making peace with the tasks I didn't complete this summer as I head into my first day of work today. 

 What gave you pause this past week?       
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3 comments:

  1. Kathleen Neagle SokolowskiJuly 30, 2019 at 5:38 AM

    I appreciate so much what you wrote about the news not telling the whole story of all the good. You are back to work already? We still have off until September. I hope it is the start of an amazing year.

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  2. LynnGJuly 30, 2019 at 6:09 AM

    Thank you for the reminders about the Information Age. My 23 year old understands the negative effects better than I do, and she reminds me to balance the intake of information between the good and the not so good.

    Best wishes for a positive school year!

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  3. Rose CappelliJuly 30, 2019 at 6:15 AM

    Such a positive outlook! And yes, I think "grandmothers" belong to a secret circle of experience and understanding.

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