I should have known better.

And in fact, I do know better. How curious, then, that I allowed myself to be seduced by something I’ve told others so many times to avoid.

And that something? The News. Or, as I believe they should be obliged to more accurately call it – The Bad News.

I had enough sense not to expose myself to it late at night or first thing in the morning, when the threshold between the conscious and unconscious mind is low, making us more susceptible to unfiltered absorption of doom and gloom.

I was “only” reading news articles on the Microsoft feed during my work day. That was more than enough to overstimulate my overactive imagination and trigger my propensity for anxiety. I did indeed come down with a bout of extreme, miserable, existential anxiety.

Fortunately, a few evenings ago I had a Zoom call with a friend who is also my financial advisor. In talking about my investments I voiced my anxieties about the world, and he immediately nailed it.

“Have you been watching the news a lot recently?”

I admitted I had. And said how ironic that was, given that I tell others not to do so because it’s detrimental to wellbeing. (As some personal development trainer said once: “Maybe you have to be aware of what’s going on. But you don’t have to be inundated by it!”)

So I determined to value my peace of mind and go back to being a lot choosier about what I expose my sensitive self to.

I am far better equipped to spread joy and good energy around me, to my sphere of influence, when my heart is free of the dead-weight of dread. And because All is One, and nothing is truly separate from everything else, lifting my life condition with Buddhist practice and being kind and patient and encouraging people I know, or meet, creates positive energy, not only in my sphere, but also in the energy field of Planet Earth.

We can either become wounded or wise. ~ Sadhguru

Photo by Nijwam Swargiary on Unsplash