It's been a hard few weeks, and that's an understatement.
Dallas. Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. Pulse. I don't seek to devalue the commentary surrounding each one of these events, but I do have to ask myself a hard question: at what point is it okay to step back and disconnect for a little while?
Listen, it's our responsibility to know what's going on. There are discussions that need to happen. There are voices to be heard, debates to be had, and actions to take.
But we live in a new age: the age of technology, social media, and the Internet.
We exist in a global web of 24/7 information. As I'm bombarded with local and worldwide headlines via social media, news outlets, and television--cue Brexit debates, U.S. shootings, or the recent bombing in Baghdad--I'm reminded that there's only so much caring I can do at one time. It's easy to be overwhelmed in this age of interconnectedness. This incredible linking of perspectives and lives across the globe comes with a price.
Never before have we been so aware of how much brokenness exists.
Sometimes, I have to sign out of Facebook. Sometimes, I need to turn off the TV. Sometimes, I have to close that news site. Sometimes, I have to let myself rest.
This disconnecting is a luxury and a privilege. Some people live in the middle of these headlines; they don't have the privilege of "disconnecting." Some people live in war zones. Some people face danger every day, just for existing. Some people face danger when they go to work, wondering if this is the day their job costs them their life.
In that urgent light, it's easy to mistake my retreat for passiveness--even selfishness. How dare I hit the mute button on all these problems? There's so much to fix; we have to give it everything we've got. This is a mindset I see in so many of my friends, and in the millennial generation as a whole: we care, and we care hard.
We have to stay informed. But in an age where we're immersed in 24/7 information--a good chunk of it bad news--it's easy to just burn out. If you fight every battle--if you throw yourself into every headline--you're going to wind up losing yourself. Sometimes I need to log out, take a walk, and re-center. It's easy to get knocked off-balance by all these bad things.
If you need a little while, take it. Know what's happening in the world, but don't feel shame for taking care of yourself. You'll come back stronger for taking a break; we'll get through this stuff.
