Why do I give so much attention to something I can do so little about?
Ill crane my neck to see the aftermath of a bad highway crash.
Ill sit back and munch popcorn as I catch up on my favorite new corruption scandal.
Mr Cup / Fabien Barral
And now Ive anxiously glued my corneas to the slowly crescendoing global meltdown induced by the killer COVID-19.
Why do I give so much attention to something I can do so little about?
Honestly, I dont ask myself questions like that enough.
That would require a more zen approach to my digital life.
The opposite of my recent morning-evening-and-everything-in-between news refreshing habit.
My names Phil, and Im a coronavirus news addict.
Now, I dontnotmeditate.
My heads more turbulent than a 747 in a supercharged wave pool.
And Im ashamed yet masochistically sort of proud to say the turbulence is self-inflicted.
Why watch so closely, though?
Im young and healthy.
Im socially distanced to the extreme in my lonely studio apartment.
Just ask my new friend, Mrs. Wow, is she mean.
My room has a view, a densely serene slice of forest with a rocky stream rolling through.
Im not against staying informed with locally relevant information.
But Ive had enough of the anxiety inducing slow-drip IV of real-time global meltdown.
Ive seen the trend-lines, the Days-Behind-Italy graphs, and its obvious the situations going from bad to worse.
Sure,societycan work to curb the pandemic, but allPhilcan do is stay home and wash his hands.
Ignoring the global conversation goes against my basic constitution.
My body needs exercise.
My heart needs connection.
And my spirit needs to create meaningful work.
I cant promise Ill never read another highly consequential yet totally irrelevant Coronavirus article.
The news trajectory wont change.
But with focus and discipline, my mental health will.
