Mrs Kate Singh-mother, homemaker, author

You don’t have to run off to the Himalaya’s and live in a cave to find God…or peace of mind.  Why, you can do it right there in your home, right here in your life!

Let me tell you a little story:  Once upon a time I had my first child and something happened to me.  I had this huge shift and suddenly my heart opened wide and I cried for the world and all the humans out there hurting, starving, the planet and all it’s woes, global warming, war, disease, shootings, stabbings, more war, hate, pollution, corrupt governments (and not just ours), and abused animals.  I cried and cried and worried and fretted and worked my worry beads into frayed bits.

Then I stopped watching the news, switched to an antenna and started watching those old westerns with John Wayne.  I got off Facebook (I post my blogs there but I never read through the newsreels, I’m sure I’ve pissed a lot of people off with my lack of “likes”), I even stopped listening to the radio.  I only listen to Pandora online because I can create my music and there are no commercials or news breaks.  I definitely stopped reading magazines and articles on issues.  Whew, that was better.

I started exploring things like Good News, Positive News, and other sources that were filled with great news.  And guess what?  There is a lot out there but you have to search for it because that damn #$%&!@$ mainstream news with its toxic poison is what sells and owns all the channels and stations right now.  That is until we wake up as a mass consciousness and say, “Enough is enough!”

If you want the links to all this great news, find my blog “To those who think the world has gone to hell in a handbasket”.  I put a stack of great links in there.

I created this little world and it was so happy and I felt alive and cheerful most days.  I also found that living in a city was a bit much for me so I shopped at quiet times and took the kids to the playground in the early hours before all the madness.  I keep my calender pretty clear and I am picky about who we spend time with and where we go.  Why not tailor a world that fits you and your family?

So, recently I started getting back into the news when we had our big and wet, wonderful winter.  It was all weather and snow and floods and so I enjoyed it.  Then it turned ugly again and I could feel myself getting a bit depressed and fearful.  When you cut yourself off from the mainstream for even a few months and then reenter it is a shock to the system.  We become so desensitized that, although the damage is still taking place, we don’t feel it much.  Well, we do but it comes in the form of overeating, not sleeping, needed 3 drinks in the evening to “wind down”.

I’m no goody two shoes but I am older now and have babies and I like good wholesome fun and entertainment.  I also find that what I watch, listen to, and take into my mind affects me profoundly on a deep level.  It affects my moods and will decide if I live in a gray cloud or a beam of joyous sunlight.  The people around me affect me deeply also.  I wish I was made of iron and was detached as all get out.  But I’m not.  I have children now and I have become a regular crier among other things.

All that media is disconnecting us as a brother/sisterhood.  Parts of media connects us in global ways and is helping to make great changes now that we can all reach out and communicate across the globe.  Part of the plugging in constantly is creating isolation and an inability to socialize.

I see it with my boys.  They are so into playing and being with me and together, then I plug them into the computer and suddenly I don’t exist.  It made me think about this day and age and how everyone is looking down at their iPhones scanning and scanning FaceBook or Twitter or what not and they are completely checked out of where they are at present.

I watched Tootsie last night.  Great comedy with Duston Hoffman from 1982.  I was watching a party scene and was remembering that time when no one had laptops or even computers.  Cell phones were not even on the radar.  Of course it was a movie, however, everyone was chatting and engaged.  Now, you don’t even see a family go to dinner without someone on a phone or iPad.  It’s almost as if parents can’t take the mere noise or liveliness of a child anymore.

Now, on a positive note, I do think this is something that many people, even millennials are becoming aware of and trying to ease up on the cell phones and such.  I’m seeing a bit less of this and people are beginning to engage more at restaurants and parties.  Perhaps the thrill of it is fading or people are starting to realize how really silly and boring it all is after awhile.  Only the hardcore addicted or shy ones still remain glued to the tiny screen and scanning to here and Timbucktoo.  It’s ridiculous to be out with friends and to be so busy checking your facebook to see what people are doing who aren’t even with you at the moment.    It’s ridiculous to take pictures of your ever meal and to post what you said to your husband or wife every five minutes.  Tell your wife you love her and spare the rest of us the sentiment.  Do people really not get how silly it is when they post declarations of their feelings on Facebook that really should have been a sweet and private moment between to people?  Maybe I’m not getting it because I come from a time when you had to find a payphone if you were late to dinner.  I had my first computer experience in high school and it was some weird box with some mathematical riddle I had to enter along with letters and control buttons.  It didn’t go well.

As for what is happening politically and environmentally? I’m not ignorant to what is going on out there, I’ve just decided to pick and choose the items I want to fill my world with.  I don’t know how long I have on this Earth and I can only help in so many ways.  I do my part both in my home, with my money, and charity work globally and locally.  I’m aware of the comedy of errors in our government and system and I’m too aware of the suffering of others.

But there is a way to do our part, be extremely helpful and also be happy.  We can be sustainable in our household, in the ways we live, play and work.  We can volunteer, do mission work, donate, and support good causes.  We can be an example of love and goodness.  And then we can stay away from news, Facebook, Twitter, and all that nonsense.  We can sign up for all the Good News and Positive News sites and feeds if we must have something.  That way we began to see the world in a whole new way and we begin to have great hope and faith.

I have even gone as far as to move back to a smaller town.  Partly because it’s all we could afford and mostly because I can’t take being crowded in by so many people and all this unnatural cement and housing.  I need a balance of in town living and nature right down the street…or a farm.

My husband’s cell phone goes off all the time with this buzzing.  I asked him what the heck is that all about?  He said it was notifying him of email or whatsapp.com notifications.  Rediculous!  I will be honest in that I find it absolutely ridiculous beyond ridiculous that a person has the cell phone tell them everytime someone farts on Facebook or they get an email.  Where the heck is the peace for crying out loud?

Do what you want but then don’t be confused as to why you can’t sleep, why you’re constantly stressed and anxious.  Don’t be surprised when your drinking starts to increase.  You are over stimulated by sounds, colors, media feeds, world drama, misery, rays coming from computers and phones.  It’s beyond toxic and there will be no peace and rest until a person puts that phone away…far away…farther…in the cupboard.  There you go.  Now, shut down the computer, Facebook, twitter, and the news.  Ahhhh, isn’t that nice?  What’s that noise?  That would be a bird in your yard, yes, been a long time I know.