This subject was set to be written towards the end of the week, but after the nightmare I had last night, it jumped to today!
Guard Your Mind
When I was a teenager, it was exasperating for me and my friends that I was not allowed to watch anything over PG. Our television watching at home was limited to Disney and old movies. My mother would take any trashy book or tape away from me. She was strict. She was guarding my mind.
When you watch a movie or television show, or read a book or the news, it becomes a part of you. It winds itself into the fibers of your memory, your behavior, how you react to things. It can feed fear- even something you may have seen as a teenager. Or it can produce empathy and inspiration.
No News Is Good News
Since before the Civil War, the press has been playing the people. Ordinary news of regular folks and positive, uplifting news just doesn’t sell. Fear sells. Anger sells. Drama sells. It releases our cortisol, it stimulates our adrenals, we read it, hear it, and it becomes a part of us. Even if nearly all news is only half true or a perception of someone else. There is no reason to know the news. Trust me, you will know if we are invaded or if there is a fire nearby. Filling yourself with news, when you can do nothing about the situations therein, is a slow poison.
We watched “Murder on the Orient Express” last night. We watched the 1974 version because we enjoyed the new one. It was just enough to topple my peaceful sleep. Everything I had seen and read about murder came flushing forward in my dream. I watched as high schoolers murdered a young man. The child came to me and a few others to solve the crime and to stop them, but they turned on us and it was a scary dream filled with fear.
Granted, I am a highly sensitive person, and perhaps you don’t think the news, or scary movies, or dramatic books affect you. But they do find a way of accessing your dreams, opinions, and actions. What if you filled your mind with really great information? What if you ditched the news and used newspapers to fuel the wood stove? What if you chose to read inspirational books and great literature? What if you only watched positive and uplifting movies? What if we all filled our minds with poetry, animal sanctuaries, great art, nature, humor, and love? Our entire perception would change for the better. We wouldn’t live in fear and anxiety as much and we could contribute more inspiration and more light to the world around us.
Today, do what you need to do to guard your mind. It’s the first step to your best life.
Farmgirl School 
This is pretty much my philosophy. Turned off TV and radio news long ago, then the rest of commercial broadcasts since the news teasers are often worse than the news itself. And no scary books or movies for me, either. I do follow follow a national newspaper online, but that’s it. I have mixed feelings, though. Am I burying my head in the sand? Would more knowledge make me more of an activist for change? Would it matter? I’ve never settled on the answer to those questions, but have generally come down on the side that not being the rabble-rousing type, the best way I can change the world is through one smile, one kind act, one good deed for humanity and the earth at a time. That’s a lot to live up to by itself.
I think if we can’t do anything about it, then it only hurts us to know. I am with you; one smile, who can I help in my community, amongst my family, or hold the door open, rescue an animal in need, etc. We are doing the best we can! And that is a lot.