In days clouded by thoughts of constant fear, angst, and disgust, the world for a modern American citizen has changed drastically. In the world of politics, this nation has condensed its division toward the election to two very different individuals. On one end, there is Hillary Clinton, possibly the first female president who leads the democratic party in the upcoming election. On the other end, Donald Trump has trampled his way to becoming the leader of the republican party and one of if not the most financially successful presidential candidates of all time. In worldly news, rarely a week goes by in which a condensed attack in random cities, towns, schools and many other facilities are attacked in the sickening hope to implant fear in the hearts of billions. Places such as Boston, Mass., Orlando, Fla., and most recently Nice, France come into mind. It comes into mind of the hundreds of other attacks not publicized. With only a single Google search, anyone can find the growing list of attacks around the country. Lastly, we, especially as Americans, have accumulated the disease, deficiency or sickness in the terminology known as depression. Whether one believes in depression as a disease or something in any other form, it has consumed the minds, emotions and caricatures of millions. From shying away from the world to acts of suicide, the growing and misunderstood threat of depression hits at the back of the brain for most of those who either don’t understand, don’t want to understand or hide away their understanding

There are days that are clouded by a dead phone battery, limited access to a computer or television, and a house with a population of one without any form of transportation. During these few powerless days, politics, terrorism, depression and thousands of other controversial topics, threats, and developments disappear. An individual has only their own being to entertain, educate and grow. There is no form of media to hitch a ride on to inform or to be informed. Recently, a simple scroll through Facebook can give society the mask that there is a constant and concrete understanding of the events going on. Although, it is not and should not be a human being’s responsibility to know what is going on around the world at all times. Hundreds of years ago it used to take weeks if not months to receive information vital to the continuation of a town or even an entire country; even then it wouldn’t be revealed to the public of the incident or agreement for a day at the least. The public has become thirsty to understand the lives and events of everyone and everything as each day, hour and second passes. This is an absolute tragedy, as the public has initiated the inevitable path of forgetting the most important topic: You.

You do not have to do with the reactions YOU may have on politics, the disgust and fear YOU display on terrorism, or the way YOU may feel upon the depression on your life or your distaste for the term. In fact, “you” can only be shared with one person. In the beginning of human discovery, you cannot learn the characteristics of who you are from others, but rather in microscopic moments in which everything begins to make sense. These seconds will not occur while devoting time into explaining someone else’s beliefs or views or another event far off from any personal connection. Rather, these bits of self-discovery happen when you make a choice based on your own self-intuition, self-being, and self-decision. This only occurs when you separate from the ideas of hundreds of others and the information dumped on you by the massive collection of data supplied by the social medium, televised news and so on.

Finally, begin to understand the difference between your own ideas, and the ideas that are found from someone or somewhere else. Technology is the good news. It connects us instantaneously to all that goes on in our communities, our cities or countries in the world. On the other hand, technology is the bad news. It permeates our consciousness and obliterates the natural nuances that often matter more than the drama taking place on a daily basis in the world. We need to figure out how to strike a balance. A balance between the larger goal over a load that is unavoidable with the internal personal balance that is necessary to be happy, healthy and sane. Let's forsake one for the other, but rather figure out how to ingest reasonable doses from both sources. In this case, the sum of the parts will be greater than the whole.

Take a step back and then in. Shut down the world around you for a moment. Let your character flourish.