In recent weeks I became acutely aware that the news I watch and see is entirely different from the information that those around me watch and see. Going out with friends is becoming a little bit of a minefield in various topics.
As a child growing up in a Convent, we were made aware of various religious wars worldwide.
It made no sense to me.
How do I know which is the right religion to pick when I am already baptised into a particular faith? Does this mean I have to defend and be loyal to the religion is was baptised in? What would happen if I switched loyalties? I am still confused about this issue.
Growing up in Namibia and South Africa, the righteousness as to cultural background was impactful in a confusing way. It had nothing to do with colour. It was just one of the many conflicting arguments.
I could not understand why culture and colour mattered to a child.
My cave living became my sanctuary. It was safe not to identify or pledge loyalty to any one group. Solitude by isolating myself from the world’s noise helps me regain the wholeness within.
The labels we put on people based on colour or culture do not make sense.
Are we not all human?
More recently, we have the pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine groups. What does my choice matter to you? Do I not have a right to make the right choice for myself? I am so happy that you have made the right choice for yourself.
I have great compassion and understanding for both sides of the argument.
As the third world war is waging, many conflicting images are presented.
What is fake or false news?
What are the reality and the truth?
How will I know?
Where do I position myself?
I was sitting having lunch with a long-time and dear friend. She insisted on sending me all the documents and news to verify her point of view regarding the third world war. I gasped. It was an opposite perspective from mine.
How is that possible in our time with the availability and overload of information?
I asked her if she was willing to look at a different outlook, and she declined. The disbelief in me shook me. I did not want a war that we were not directly engaged in to shatter our friendship. We agreed to acknowledge that we may have differences in our worldview. Most importantly, we decided that our friendship should not be divided by different perspectives. We focused on why our friendship was important to us.
It is so easy to get lost in one-sided information gathering.
Cults exist because they are good at selling their perspective.
Grooming girls and boys for personal gain is possible due to promises made in an enticement to co-operate.
We live in a time where we are overloaded with information.
It helps to discern what news is reality based on the truth it represents. It is also important to realise that the fact presented may be actual from where it originates. Points in isolation of the whole picture are like looking at only one puzzle piece in isolation of the whole. You can create an image of your choice around the singular puzzle piece.
Become aware of the fears that arise when you take in the images on the news. What are these fears representing for you? Yes, the fear of survival is real. Acknowledge it. Then ask yourself: “Is this how I want to live?” The outside world only presents you with choices. The choice you make for yourself is the only right choice for you.
Why? Because it is the choice you make for your survival or the choice you make to bring you peace within. Yes, I watch the news. It allows me to be aware of the world we live within. The information and its ugly images, fake or not, let me know the choices I want to bring into my life and how I wish to show up in this world as an independent in the collective.