Hotei by Jan Rentenaar/Ewer by Pam Murakami
My head has been ready to explode! It is over-stimulation. I Heard a Funeral in my Brain… these words suddenly came to me. What the poem, by Emily Dickinson, really says is this, “I felt a funeral in my brain, And mourners to and fro…” That’s the kind of week it was. The poem well reflects my sense of brain-explosion. Every place I look there is news of destruction, by nature and by man’s own hand. And so it goes on, and I wonder why we do not rise up and demand the cause of unrest, anger and bitterness be addressed. So much bla-bla-bla on all sides!
Responsible journalism? What is that? Truth telling? What is truth? Today’s technologically bombarded society is used to instant news bites, short bursts of information. Within this world of instant news and instant gratification, STOP is a word far from consciousness. To discern truth from fiction requires taking the time to actually digest what is being shouted. As I was glancing through articles and fast-bite bits on Facebook, I began to wonder how many people get their news from this source. How many take everything they hear on TV and see on the internet as truth. How many ever STOP and question whether what is being shared, in our fast bites, is truth, half truth, or misleading. In this world where stopping for any reason is rare, news in sound bites is dangerous. Reactionary behavior, an outcome of not stopping, abounds.
In respect to reading and television watching, the saying “garbage in-garbage out” comes to mind. We have violence in the news, violence in TV programing in the form of nonstop criminal shows. Our brains are being bombarded constantly with the shouting. Nervous systems are always in a state of alert and stress. No thought, no putting on the brakes. Garbage in, react! No discernment whether we see or hear truth, just reaction! In the end, garbage out. No surprise here. Cause and effect. Along with the non-ending violence and constant advertising, our society has continued to become more and more self-centered and greedy. We live in a capitalistc society in which collection of “things” and money is of the higest priority. The teaching profession and education falls to the bottom of the list for funding. Heath insurance and education are not priorities and the basic needs of a population continue not to be met. Many in this very rich nation do not even have food. No wonder unrest grows.
Mindfulness and conscious control are what I teach. Research continues to show our thoughts stimulate our nerves, our nerves stimulate our muscular activity! We see violence, fictional and nonfictional, and remain in a constant state of over-stimulation. Unfortunately, I do not see the bombartment of these negative stimulants ending any time soon. BUT, in the end we do have choices. We can work on solutions. We can stop, recognize wrongs and actively work on changing the many systems which do not work. We can demand truth and fairness. We can make a difference in our own small circle of the world. We must ourselves, STOP and demand that the causes of poverty, injustice, anguish, frustration be recognized, acknowleged and addressed.
“I felt a funeral in my brain.. And mourners to and fro… Kept treading, treading, treading til it seemed that sense was breaking through…”
Pause! BIG pause! Question! What would the world be like if we ALL stopped and everyone was treated with respect and care? Possibility thinking in, positive energy and intentions out. NO garbage in and NO garbage out!
Stop, Breathe, Stop again, Breath and choose to move forward to demand and make positive change! Emily Dickinson expresses my sentiments eloquently in one of my favorite poems.
If I can stop one heart from breaking,I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching or cool one pain,
or help on faintinG robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.