I surrender …

I’ve always been a news and political junkie; and, when I moved to Toronto from Montreal, I instantly became addicted to CNN and its 24 hour news cycle. It was like I’d died and gone to heaven.

Now it’s more like being in hell.

Am I the only one struggling to find something positive on the news?

Not that I’m an escapist. I’ve never been one to bury my head in the sand, avoid reality or run away from it — even
when I’ve wished it was otherwise.

But my goodness!

This constant darkness we find ourselves in, is just too much. It really is unbearable. And I am beginning to wonder if it’s at least partly responsible for the rise in suicides. While it thankfully doesn’t have that dramatic an effect on me, I can understand why so many are having such a hard time dealing with feelings of despair.

A few weeks ago I finally decided that I’d had enough of it and I drastically reduced how much of the news I watch, particularly CNN. I can’t tell you how much better I feel. I’m not tense, aggravated frustrated and riled up all the time.

Of course I still want, and need, to know what’s going on in Canada and the rest of the world. But it doesn’t have to dominate my days and nights. It doesn’t have to dominate my thoughts. Especially when there’s precious little I can do about so much of it.

There are good, smart, honest people out there. There is a lot of good being done. There is positive news. There are things we can all do to make this a better, safer world for ourselves and everyone else. We cannot lose all hope. We cannot allow ourselves to be dragged into an abyss of misery just because that’s what the media is focusing all their time and attention on.

So yes, I’ve pretty much stopped watching TV — okay, okay, truth be told, I did get caught up in the news before the Ontario election last week and when the loose cannon in the White House went on his rampage at the G7 conference.

But that was temporary. My resolve is back, my television remains off and instead, I’m spending my time searching for the light at the end of the tunnel. It is there, it’s just buried under a pile of poop. If you’re looking for me, I’m the one with the nose plugs and a shovel.

“Running Away” photo by Alexandre Dulaunoy on Flickr, through Creative Commons