Ever get the feeling that if you turn away from your phone or computer screen, let alone blink, you will miss something important? For the last several months, I have been living this reality, as I am sure many of you have as well. Life feels like it is moving so fast… and I don't mean with my daughters growing up so fast. (Although my oldest daughter just began her 4th year of college, and my youngest started her junior year of high school.) The "moving real fast" I am referring to is that something always seems to be happening somewhere in the world that feels really important.

 

As a reference… just look back at this past week. The Democratic National Convention was held last week in Chicago. While that was going on, negotiators from Israel and Hamas were in Cairo trying to hammer out a lasting ceasefire treaty that could bring home all of the hostages and put an end to the hostilities that began on October 7. Along those lines, new regulations and policies regarding student protests were announced as students return to college campuses, including at all Cal State universities and UC campuses. And this does not even include a record sale at auction of the jersey Babe Ruth wore when he famously "called his shot" and hit a home run, or so many other "important" things.

 

Of course, I didn't even mention Israel's pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah targets on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. (Click here to read the update that was sent out early Sunday (August 25 morning.)

 

The fact is, it is hard to stay abreast of everything going on, and yet some people try. As connected as we are these days, able to get information instantaneously no matter where we are, it is no wonder that so many people feel tied to their electronics for fear of missing an important world event, even though it does not directly affect or impact their lives.

 

Please understand… I love that there are people who care about what happens to others; it is a testament to the idea that we are all interconnected. But I believe it is imperative that we keep some perspective in mind, be empathetic, and remember to make the most of the things we have some control over.

 

And maybe, just maybe, we can remember back to the time when we had to wait until 6:00 p.m. when the evening news came on to learn about events happening around the world. Or when we cracked open the newspaper the next day to read about it.

 

Balance in our lives is crucial, especially with everything happening right here in the US and around the world.

 

I encourage all of us to keep this in mind the next time we get the urge to check and see if anything new happened since we last checked…. two minutes ago.