Dear Readers,
I have noticed that 2013 is a year for paying it forward and showing more love. A lot of new resolutions this January. Unconditional love for others is going to be important when we attempt to combat the things that do not make us happy. Being unhappy contributes to unhealthy behaviors such as overeating, using drugs and using depression as a way to mistreat others. This is not the way we want to live our lives.
The feeling of despair does not have to start close to home but could start just by watching the news. The doomsday reports of the world ending was also very disturbing for many . The hurting issue just needs to be close to your heart and when children are involved it becomes easier to abandon. I am in the media and I know that if it bleeds it reads. However, there is a time when too much is enough. We are bleeding stories so much that they are beginning to cause hemorrhages and that extensive coverage is causing some extreme pain.
It seems as mainstream media is constantly streaming images of despair and speaking about carnage. We have a whole channel now dedicated to the death industry now. Investigation ID has television shows like “Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?” and “Wives with Knives”.
I cannot forget Headline News (HLN). They play the same news over and over again. Nancy Grace who has a show named after her is on on the foremost celebrities in current affair shows. She has discussed Whitney Houston’s untimely death and the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case.
We have our hands full with reality television show and individuals who make very unwise choices. We have our hands full with our youth getting younger and younger playing violent video games. But the interesting trend is the commentators, news media and journalists who speculate wildly about what actually happened. By the time we get to the end of the case, we don’t know what was the actual outcome or how those who have been impacted by the violence are doing because media is not interested.
The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary disturbed me. I could not believe that 20 first-graders and six educators were shot massacre style. This happened hours after twenty-three children were stabbed in a rural Chinese elementary school. The Colorado shooting at a movie theater and the mall shooting in Oregon. December is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year”. However for some the holidays comes with a heavy price tag in the form of credit card bills and the inability to live comfortably for three month.
The new year in Lansing rang out with a murder two hours in. Our heart and prayers go out to the family, of Nicholas “Nino” Jones . We had barely had time to deal with the death of Jones and the wounding of four other men. Then we got the news that 3 month old baby, Janayjah Sanders was pronounced dead on January 4.
While we may not be directly involved in the lives of anyone who is impacted by senseless death finding peace while one is dealing with the loss of loved ones is difficult.
I believe that we can accept the responsibility of being kinder to each other. We need to have a starting point for making the decision to live a better life, which includes grieving. Reinforce that you may not want to watch the same devastation over and over again. Choose to be responsible about what you choose to make you fearful. Take care of yourself. Watching bad news is stressful. It may bring on the possibility of reliving your own experience with a death in your family. The anger, the blame, the fear, the anxiety and the fear of the possibility of your own illness or death.
Take care of yourself . Do not be afraid to get help from professionals if you need it. Remember that your heart wrenching pain is impacting others in your family who need you to be attentive to them. Also remember that healing after tragedy whether national or personal is going to impact you one thing that you can do is be more loving towards the people who inhabit your world. Keep your heart safe and remember to…
Love people,
Rina Risper
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This was printed in the January 13, 2013 – January 26, 2013 Edition
