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Good morning and happy Groundhog Day to those who celebrate. For those playing from home, the groundhog saw its shadow forecasting six more weeks of winter, which more or less lines up with a little thing we call the Spring Equinox, so that seems legit.

On Being Informed

Like many, I was upset by the outcome of the election, and that concern/anxiety was gleefully stoked by every news medium in my orbit. In a bid to keep my sanity, I've started to shift my media habits, not to stick my head in the sand but to keep myself from going mad.

I believe that you can acknowledge the current state of things without swimming in the sludge all the waking day. News outlets and entertainment venues (same diff?) would have you believe that everything they have to say is relevant to you and must be ingesting in real time so you can "be informed."

At this point, I'm going to lean on the Clifford Stoll quote:

Data isn't information. ... Information, unlike data, is useful. While there's a gulf between data and information, there's a wide ocean between information and knowledge. What turns the gears in our brains isn't information, but ideas, inventions, and inspiration. Knowledge-not information-implies understanding. And beyond knowledge lies what we should be seeking: wisdom.

I feel like I get a lot of data from news outlets and podcasts and such, but how useful is any of it? How much action does it drive? Does it change my mind in any way? Or is the reality that my anxiety has been trained to think that knowing what is going on gives me some measure of control, however illusory that is? When I step back out of that headspace and give myself a little distance, I remember:

• I already know my principles and my opinions on things
• Having people reinforce those in the face of all this does not bring me comfort or control; it only makes me feel paralyzed, paranoid, and more anxious.
• I cannot make any real decision about What To Do when I'm in that state

To keep myself functioning, I'm doing the following:

Disconnecting for long stretches

No amount of dopamine is worth being transfixed by the stream of opinions that come through my social media feeds. This is not social media's fault; this is just people being people. I'm not going to fault anyone for expressing themselves. By all means, do it. But for me, I need to take a dandelion break now and again and go focus on something I like to do to feel better about the things I cannot change.

Lighting a candle (Not always literally)

If there is anything that I can do, it is to try to make things better for myself and the people around me by providing something positive in the face of the negative. In my world, this looks like: NOT sharing panic-inducing links and photos of other social media; doing creative things that put a little positivity back out in the world (like writing); and providing outlets for people to set aside their cares for a bit and do something fun and maybe even restorative.

A good example of the latter is the new campaign my D&D group and I are just beginning. We've settled on a few ground rules:

1. Things are what they seem -- no huge plot twists like the king you've been working for is suddenly the bad guy, or the evil wizard is suddenly relatable. These sorts of plot twists have become so de riguer that they are no longer twists at all; they are expected, and it does nothing but make the players paranoid and indecisive.
2. No grim dark. We're going with Noble Bright.
3. No multiverses or time travel.
4. No intentional commentary on world events in-game.

I adore that we came to a place of agreement on all of these. As a result, creating the world and characters for the world is a challenge because I cannot lean on the past 25 years of narrative rug pulling we've endured time and time again, both in our fiction and in the real world. It's truly refreshing, and I hope it is as restorative for them as it is for me.

"Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." --spoken by Gandalf, in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Focusing on Home

Part of the taking time away from all things internet is doing things I love in my home. We've touched on the writing and the RPGs, but cooking, baking, roasting, brewing, hiking, etc. are all important to me feeling healthy. As the winter thaws and spring finds its way home to me, I'm going to spend more time both outside gardening and getting into the woods and inside making things. My wife and I have had a motto since we were dating: Live Together and Make Cool Stuff. More of that, please. More of that.

Exploring What I Have

One of the knee-jerk reactions I've developed is retail therapy, normally in the form of buying books I forget to read and games I forget to play. I'm filling the time that I used to spend doomscrolling reading books in my library and playing these games that I never play. It's been pretty great, to be honest. It feels good not to spend. Not only that, but it feels good to reward myself with things I already have instead of acquiring more and forgetting about them.

Conclusion

It's all about the coping and finding equilibrium now. It doesn't mean rolling over, and it doesn't mean hiding. It just means finding a little balance for ourselves. Remember, the people that hate you want you tired, exhausted, and not thinking or feeling clearly. It's part of the strategy. Don't let them control you. They have power—but not all of it.