distracted

 I've taken a break from listening to the evening news. It wasn't by design but just happened. Now I'm wondering what I missed, if anything. I hear a lot of folks say how they get peace by not watching but that isn't the case with me. I guess I'm just naturally curious about what is going on around me. It's true that it often gets me upset, angry, disgusted or disillusioned but I want to know. I sometimes find that happening when listening to what the news is presenting as a "feel good" story. No surprise I don't agree with what some are portraying as a good thing! 

 I've discovered that living in the information age does take up a lot of your time. That is to say, there is so much more to think about and consider. I grew up in small town America where things didn't change much, and new ideas weren't readily adopted. Like children in a candy store city folk are easily overwhelmed by decision making and choices, often jumping at whatever bait is offered. Quick to discard the old and replace it with the new. 

 This information age has spread that attitude to the suburbs and beyond. The internet is primarily responsible for that. All of man's information available at your fingertips. It can overwhelm you, consume you if you allow that to happen. Perhaps it is the comparison with other lifestyles and cultures that create the confusion. When I was a kid the National Geographic magazine was the primary source of that sort of information. On those pages we saw naked pygmies, ladies with a stack of rings on their necks, Pyramids, Eskimo's and more. We read the stories how others lived, and it was usually pretty bad compared to what we knew.

 I agree that the more information you have the better decisions you can make. There is no argument with that, it's common sense. But a wise old farmer once told me, the more you know the less you think you know. There is a lot of truth in that statement. Still, in the end you have make a decision. The secret lies in knowing what information to discard. Well not discard, that isn't the correct word, I mean what information is relevant to the current decision being made. Basing your decision on what worked for others isn't always the best way. It's true there are times you just have to go it alone. 

 If you are always following others, you can't lead. Are those others trying to get to the same place as you? Each of us have a separate path to walk. Misery loves company is another familiar adage, and it also holds a lot of truth. We are all trying to get the things we want. It has to be remembered however that " The world is independent of my will" (Ludwig Wittenstein) is the author of that thought I'm not taking any credit for it other than to agree. It isn't surrender that obtains the goal, it is the acceptance of reality. Simply grabbing at whatever seems fresh and new, that offers the least resistance, what gains you popularity and temporary friendships isn't making a decision. That is a surrender. Clinging to the truth as you know it to be is acceptance. Just because you are the only one that believes it doesn't make it wrong! The hardest part of life is living it undistracted. I haven't mastered that yet. I'm working on it.