Today I am going to have to backtrack over my very own words - and if only there was a rewind button or virtual Tipp-Ex in Life - because I don't think I can honestly stand by what I said about our crime in South Africa since accidentally reading two devastating news clips that have left me reeling, and with tears. Normally, I refuse to read the news in a positive boycotting of what I see as the media's unnecessary thirst and glorification of blood - i.e. anything that resembles scandal, murder, assault, corruption, abuse, you name it, and the media relies on our bloodlust to sell advertising and column centiimetres. I prefer, thank you very much, to not ruin my day, so perfect with potential, with the horrors of 'the news'. My husband says I am unrealistic, but I honestly believe there has got to be a more constructive way of presenting what is actually important to us as a nation. I'm going to post the two links here for you to follow if you have a strong stomach - and if you are able to see why I have posted it.
And here's why. An experiment: mindfully read the two articles - paying very close attention to what happens to your heart rate, your breathing, if you begin to sweat, if you have a surge of adrenaline, what your most honest thoughts are, and your emotional state. (If you have the guts, please leave a record of it in the 'comments' section at the end of this post!)
Did you notice an initial sharp intake of breath? Perhaps your heart lurched forward as it was flooded with adrenaline? Palms sweaty, maybe? Did you think about how lucky you are to be 'safe', have electric-fencing or how you should get some - as in NOW?!
What I am proposing is that with the advent of the media and now its literal explosive presence and seeming inescapability, we have become adrenaline junkies. We live from fix to fix, from one shocking news report to the next. Tough to digest? I just Googled 'adrenaline addictive' and - sjoe! Go on - try it. And maybe, just maybe, you might be able to honest enough with yourself to admit that yes, the news keeps us informed, but I do not need to feast upon the terrors and tragedies of others. I can choose to tune it out. I can choose to not read these articles. And if you're afraid of 'losing touch with the world', ask yourself these two questions: if, after I make sure I and my family are as safe as is reasonable,
1. How did people live, say 200 years ago, without the kind of news we crave and are bombarded with on a moment-by-moment basis?
2. Why do I feel such a compulsive need to feel in control of 'the world' by knowing what's supposedly 'happening'?
The answer lies in a cycle of addiction to adrenaline. And the hallmark of an addict? Denial. The answer to recovery (and serenity) lies in our ability to be so honest with ourselves that we can come to a point of accepting we are addicted, and then - choosing to help ourselves.
Here are the two links: Parents and Baby. (Please, brave souls, leave your observations in the comments box.)
PS. Adrenaline Addicts Anonymous.
5 comments:
I agree with you 100% Lisa. I refuse to read disgusting horror stories anymore. In fact, I wont even watch a horror movie. I am far too much of an empath to burden myself with such stories. I think that if the media refused to publish anything negative and only focus on the positive the world would be a much more bearable place to live in. What one puts out into the universe one attracts - so happy positive stories should be the way forward. BUT that will never happen - so people lik you and I will just have to consciously choose to not read the negative.
Well done Lees,
xxx
I started a 'Good News Resources' section on my Soutpiel blog - and I need to update it! And I think that Step #2 is working with editors across the country to show them the devastating, propoganda-like impact that the way they present the news has on our nation's collectibe consciousness!
I totally agree with you Melanie, the media should not be focusing on the negatives of our country but rather the positives. I personally feel that all the negatives news that is shown and pushed out by the media is causing a lot of tension in society and unnecessary aggression and hatred in our country, if we all start being positive and grateful for what we have and the country we live in, we'll all be so much more happier and at peace. As for the fact that it will never happen I have to disagree, it takes one person to set a trend, two to make a difference, three to be noticed, four to start a community, so what i'm saying is that if you start talking positive to your friends and family then they start realizing what we are fortunate to have in this country and so they will start talking! it will be and is difficult but it is very possible to do!So please don't give up hope..
I fully and totally agree with you Melanie, the media should not be focusing on the negative news in the country instead they should be focusing on the positive news, I personally feel that because of all the negative news that is being pushed out into society it's creating a aggressive, hateful tension in our country and it is starting affect us as South Africans and as a nation, some how some way we need to start pushing out positive news through the media, I do have to disagree on one small thing though, you say it'll never happen but in actual fact there are ways and means of getting it to happen, if we all start talking about what we are grateful for in this country and all start saying thank you for everything you will start to see a change, to bring joy into our lives we need to share joy and happiness. It takes one person to start something, two people to make a difference, three people to make a noise and a nation to make something happen. So if we all start talking positive and start showing gratitude to our friends and family then something will happen. Please don't give up hope.
Kelvin
I wasn’t always a positive person about myself or about my country, I was a very angry, negitive person from the age of 14-19 years. I was so negitive about this country and became hateful of different races even though I had loads of Different friends of different races, so I decided I needed to get away from Johannesburg and moved down to the Drakensburg where I became more aware of the different cultures and started to interact more with the Zulu Culture. I started to love different cultures more and more but there was still something about South Africa that I did not like and so I moved to Newcastle Upon-Tyne in England where my dads side of the family and my sister was, I lived there for almost a year and a half and got really home sick so I moved back, I realised that the grass isn’t greener on the other side and that we have an awesome country. When I moved back I started a new job in construction where I really started to appreciate the different cultures, and got to understand South Africa itself a lot more. I’ve been with the same company now for two years and still love every second of it because every day is different. Anyway I babbling on, The reason I started the group is because I’m so tired of hearing about the negatives of this country and I’m tired of the media always focusing on the “BAD” in the country that it drove me mad, I realised by me complaining all the time is making me miserable and angry. So I decided to change my ways and to start appreciating our country more, I started small and started to notice the sunsets and sunrises more and started to say thank you for them, now I take photos everyday of the sunsets and sunrises. I started saying thank you to everyone and everything and slowly I became a lot happier and a lot more appreciative of South Africa and the beautiful people in it. I thought of the group because I wanted to get more people to realise and talk about what they grateful for
And what they appreciate about South Africa, by talking about the positives of this country and by expressing their gratitude the happier people become and the more joy they bring into their lives. If we all start focusing on the positives of this country the more passionate people will become and the easier it will be to live in peace. I just wish that the media would focus on the positives of this country! The more negatives that are shown and pushed into the public the more it affects socity in a negative way, the more aggressive and hateful people become. I want to make a difference in the country I want to help people. I love South Africa and everything about it.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=117067144986065
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