Sacred Sunday | What We Choose to Tend To

There is a lot of fear and uncertainty in the world — as there always has been — but lately it feels louder, closer, harder to escape.

The question I hear most often (sometimes out loud, sometimes quietly inside) is: What are we supposed to do with all of this?

Here is my honest answer.

I turn much of it off.

Not because I don’t care.

Not because I’m unaware.

But because consciously filling myself with a constant stream of fear and uncertainty does not make me more loving, more present, or more effective.

It makes me tense, reactive, and suspicious.

I can’t change what is happening on a global scale by consuming it endlessly.

I can choose how I live, how I work, and how I care for the people in my life.

So I focus on my work.

I focus on the people I love.

I focus on what what is actually "mine" to tend to.

It isn’t denial.

It’s discernment.

There is a big difference between staying informed and becoming saturated.

And an even bigger difference between compassion and overwhelm.

Much of what we’re exposed to is designed to keep our attention — not to help us respond wisely. And when the nervous system is constantly activated, clarity becomes hard to access.

We don’t serve the world well by carrying everything.

We serve it by staying regulated enough to show up with steadiness where we truly have reach.

Sometimes the most responsible thing we can do is narrow the field:

our body

our breath

our home

our work

our people

From there, something settles.

And when something real is ours to tend to, we can meet it with presence instead of panic.

If you feel heavy or overwhelmed, give yourself permission to set something -- anything -- down.

You are allowed to protect your time and attention.

You are allowed to choose depth over noise.

You are allowed to tend to your life fully — even when the world feels loud.

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