What Thich Nhat Hanh says in this interview about “right consumption” really struck me.

“….the amount of violence and craving in us and in our children comes from our practice of unmindful consumption — watching television, reading magazines, having poisonous conversation. We bring a lot of poisons and toxins into our body and into our consciousness. If you don’t stop producing these toxic items, and if we don’t know how to protect ourselves by mindful consumption of these items, there’s no way out.”

I’ve tried to become more conscious about what I take in media-wise. I have pretty much stopped watching/listening to the news. I just find the body-count information overload too depressing. Sure it means when someone says “did you hear about the fire that killed all the babies!?” I have to say “no”, but I prefer not to be inundated with that kind of news all the time. It just makes me feel too powerless and sad.

Head in the sand approach? Maybe, but when there is so much information available you have to be selective. When the tsunami happened in South Asia, I read a few stories in the paper and they were really tough to absorb. There was no way I was going to watch the news. I just didn’t want to see interviews with parents who saw their children swept away by water. As a parent, I want to enjoy my son every minute and feel as safe as possible so that he can too.

I believe that what I can control is how I operate within my own sphere of influence. I want to focus on being positive and compassionate and fully present with the people around me. And I can’t if I’m constantly side-swiped by the toxic tidbits swirling around me.