Crescendo of Craziness … What’s to be done?

We live in turbulent times.

Much of life as we knew it is no longer.  What was “normal” one year ago, no longer is … no matter who you are or how you were living.  Daily life has radically changed.  If you worked in an office outside your home, you probably don’t.  Most kids are home bound or on restricted school schedules.  Local lockdowns attempt to limit your ability to spend time outside your home or to have friends and extended family in your home.  Borders between many countries are shut; quarantining for 14 days is mandatory for entry to other countries. Travel has radically changed.

These days, division, exclusion, extremism, separation and righteousness seem to predominate in all forms of media.  And underlying them are fierce beliefs and the accompanying emotional charges of having the right belief and needing to be right.   Outrage and panic seem to rule at times, with self-proclaimed, and in some cases, credentialed experts announcing their theories and conclusions. 

• You’re a good person if you wear a mask!
• You’re a puppet if you wear a mask!
• It’s the right thing to get the vaccination!
• The vaccines change your DNA and have chips in them to let “them” (whoever they are) know what you are thinking.

Conspiracy theories abound, all across social media, fueling each of these beliefs … and more. 

Yes, there is a lot of craziness right now.  And, what’s missing in all of this?

  What about you?  Where are you?  What do you know?

 The one thing I remember from my grad school statistics class is that you can always find data to back up whatever it is you are looking to prove.  If you have an answer and are looking for validation and proof, you can find it. 

 What are some antidotes to being sucked into all the craziness? 

• Ask questions … You don’t have to believe everything (or even anything) you hear, no matter who says it … Instead, ask questions! is this actually true?  Does this apply to me?  What’s going to work for me, for my kids, for my family?   

• Trust yourself to know the difference between information that is helpful, and disinformation designed to create confusion. You know better than all the noisemakers what’s true for you, for your body, for your kids, for their bodies, for your family … trust it!
• Laugh more!
• And most of all, don’t neglect doing the things in your life that you love to do, and, do more of them!

Remember, anything that you give energy, attention and focus to grows!  What’s growing in your world?  What would you like more of?