I watched the news from America this morning, and for once, I had nothing to say.
I immediately remembered why I had stopped watching the news.
It's one giant groan. The world is fucking groaning! War, the cost of living, morals being eroded, all seemingly accepted as completely normal. Anger, hatred and fear. It's everywhere you look. The creeping darkness seems to have obscured the good news stories entirely.
Perhaps what troubles me most isn't what is happening, but the possibility that we're becoming accustomed to it.
I've spent the last few years trying to simplify my life. Concentrating on the things that matter. My family. My health. My home. The small things I can actually do something about.
But simplifying my life doesn't mean I have stopped caring about the world outside it.
I still care. Sometimes more than I know what to do with.
I like to stay informed about the things that matter to me, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to find the good news. Sometimes it feels as though someone, somewhere, has decided that anger and fear are more useful than hope. Our so-called leaders seem incapable of setting a decent example, and even our local communities appear to be losing some of their spirit.
Social media has a lot to answer for, I think.
I've seen first-hand how the echo chambers amplify the rhetoric surrounding everyday life here in Kent. Neighbours arguing about dog shit in the park, even though it's probably fox scat rather than some evil dog walker hell-bent on getting poo onto the shoes of innocent children playing nearby.
It's ridiculous when you think about it.
Moaning and groaning seems to have become the default setting for some people. Everybody has something to complain about, somebody to blame, or an opinion that simply must be heard.
Find joy. That's what I keep telling myself.
But it's not always easy.
