Media overload

I'm not sure about you, but I've been overwhelmed with the last few weeks of media coverage of the country's financial woes.

Between the recent events in Congress and the upcoming presidential election, I've hit what I call "media overload" -- and I keep telling myself I ought to go on a media fast. Yes, fast from all the "talking heads" for a period of time, clear my head of the preponderance of opinions. My husband and I have done this sort of fasting before -- once on accident while we were on vacation at a hotel where there were no TVs in the rooms, and once on purpose because we needed to clear some space in our heads. It's amazing how worry, anger and strife dissipated during those fasts.

I'm not sure I'll actually follow through on this desire to give up the media for a while. It is, after all, election season, and even if I tried to fast from it all, I still can't get away from the advertising on fliers and bumper stickers, can't escape the discussions and opinions I hear walking the halls where I teach, etc. Even trying to mind my own business and drink a cup of coffee at Starbucks, I inevitably overhear someone pontificating about these issues. It's also awfully hard to fast from the media when you're in it and teaching it to other people -- particularly in the middle of a presidential campaign like this one.

This evening I read a story about the financial situation that was a bit of a breath of fresh air, which is the next best thing to the fast I probably won't do. I wanted to pass along the link. It's the only thing I've read in the past two weeks that looks at the issue from a spiritual perspective. I don't know about you, but I need that perspective today.

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