Easily Excitable

Approximately six years ago, my older brother, Walker, directed me to a podcast that he found interesting. After listening to two and a half hours of said podcast (it was during COVID- spare me), I didn’t walk away interested. 

I walked away terrified. 

The guy, a finance guru, spoke much doom and gloom about a financial crash that would render us all broke and without hope. 

By the end of the podcast, I had decided that the only solution was buying gold. 

In the span of about an hour, I was convinced I would turn all of my life’s savings into gold, and I would take care of the family with the two flecks of gold I would be able to buy at the time. 

Is it any shock that I scare easily? ARE YOU SURPRISED?! 

You shouldn’t be. 

I am about two decisions away from building a bunker in our back yard at all times. I’m almost 37% positive that we could just dig a massive hole in the back yard and drop the trailer into it, should the need for a bunker ever arise. 

I do not handle fear well. 

But, folks: we are swimming in it. 

I feel that fear, particularly during this election cycle, has run rampant. 

And, really, it’s not just the election: it’s Iran with nuclear power, it’s Israel, it’s the social issues here in America, it’s Russia, it’s China, it’s the southern border, it’s Russia and Ukraine. 

And those are just the ones that pop into mind right now. 

There is so much information to take in, and the way we are taking it in is one of the primary causes of our fear. 

We become overwhelmed with it. 

Therefore, we scroll even more to cope with the issues we feel are so big, and we shush that anxiety with a little more scrolling, a little more news. 

What a sad cycle.

The beautiful things in life are not those things in your Apple iPhone. 

Those news sources feed off of your anxiety and fear. And while they may not create it initially, they sure do a fine job of stoking it. 

We carry around with us a little squawking box that constantly makes us aware of all of the issues that, quite frankly, are not within our control. 

We then jump on social media, and we see the emotions (largely negative) of people we know tangentially or not at all. We absorb their emotions without the context of a relationship. 

I can’t think that this is healthy. 

It is not lost on me that my fear rose substantially during a time when I was largely alone. 

I don’t mean that in a sad way: it’s just that it was during Covid, a time where gatherings, particularly in the first part of it, weren’t possible. 

I got to see my family often, though. I also lived with Aubri, which was a God-send. Only, she had to do things like work in a hospital, so she couldn’t be there all the time. 

But this fear response largely had to do with the fact that there weren’t people around me quite as much to say, “Emmie, get it together. Do not pass Go. Do not buy the gold.”

That is a function of living in community. 

Something we did for thousands and thousands of years has, in the last seventeen years, declined, and I think that much of our anxiety, fear, and anger comes from that. 

When lives were closely intertwined, there were relationships, love, wisdom, accountability, and shared responsibility to look after one another.

There was safety in numbers, whether that number was small or large. 

Now, that’s not so much the case:

Many jobs have become remote, people are more likely to have online relationships with others, and disputes and discussions over easy things, like politics, have gone from face-to-face to social media. 

I guess here’s what I’m asking: is this a good thing?

What our phones have communicated to us is that the world’s problems are ours to solve. 

We take in this message because, I think, biologically, that’s been the key to survival: the problem in front of us was the problem we would tackle and solve. 

Certainly not the case now. 

We are inundated with problems that are desperately troubling and heart wrenching. We see children killed in war zones, and we know that human trafficking is taking place, and we worry about nuclear war. 

Before long? We have worked ourselves up into a frenzy. That very paragraph may have given you a little bit of anxiety. 

The issue with how we intake our news is that we feel as though the larger issues are on us to solve. 

Consider life in 1924. Real time breaking news? That wasn’t happening. If something was going on nationally, the newspapers would announce it the following day. 

The biggest concern and biggest priority would be those around and in front of us. We would both mourn and celebrate as a community. 

What we have successfully done now, however, is near cut ourselves off from community and relationships. 

In the span of 17ish years, our smartphones have encouraged us that those online relationships are most meaningful.

Have we neglected those in-person relationships and negated their importance therein?

For all of human history before, the most important thing in life has been community, be it your family, your neighborhood, your church, your school, your city. 

In my opinion? That’s where the good stuff happens. 

Those are the places that warm and protect us. 

Those are the places that accept us, and love us, and hold us accountable. 

They give us purpose and meaning, because when we contribute and are needed, we feel a sense of true, interpersonal belonging that would be near impossible to find online. 

Has our shift from community- something that’s worked for thousands of years- moved us closer to the worst parts of ourselves?

I don’t think that the phone is the root of all evil. 

But I do think that the phone does an impeccable job of mining the evil we have in us- whetting it and preparing it for battle.

Conversely, I think the phone can stifle those best parts of us: fellowship, work ethic, kindness, attention to detail. 

If you are looking for the good in life, do not look at the news. 

Look at your community. 

This may well look differently for you: for me personally, this is my family, my friend circle, my coworkers, my church, my pickleball people, my small town. 

That is where the joy is. 

That is where the goodness is. 

That is where I should put my focus. 

Why? 

Well, that’s where I can effect change. 

If all of my focus is on situations and people outside of my realm of influence, I am rendered unable to fully show up for those who need me. 

And even more so, who I need. 

It’s not that I believe national politics and international situations don’t matter: rather, I just think that it’s not my problem to get in there and fix it. 

Because at the end of the day? I’m not the person in charge of national security (praise God).

I’m not the one in the power seat. 

The place I have the biggest impact is in my community. 

If you know me at all, you know that I believe fully in the power of prayer. 

And I value wholeheartedly the democratic process and participating through voting. 

That is a civil duty we cannot afford to downplay or de-prioritize. 

I believe that we are obligated to vote, and I will continue to vote in every election.

Prayer and voting is my engagement on the national level. 

But, those two things? That’s about all I can do. 

To focus on what is out of my control beyond those two things (that I truly believe are the most powerful ways to show up) only hurts me and the people around me. 

I think that, this time of year, it’s easy to demonize the other side of politics and the aisle: to paint them as monsters, inhumane, and sinful. 

But is it every bit as sinful to be driven by fear? 

To lack gratitude for the blessings we’ve been given because we are so wrapped up in what’s going on hundreds of miles away from us? 

I don’t know. Those are just thoughts. 

In the Bible, Peter calls us to be “sober-minded” (1 Peter 5:8). Now, if you’re not a Christian reading this, I think it’s good practice. 

But, if you are a believer, that is a God-given command. 

And yes, I’m sure that he meant don’t drink too much beer. 

But is there any emotion more intoxicating than fear? Is there anything quite like it that can drive us to make the worst decisions and reveal the worst parts of ourselves? 

So, I think really, I’m imploring you to know that the good will not be found on your TV screen.

It sure won’t be found on your cell phone. 

Look outside- literally. 

On average, people spend 93% of their days indoors. (I learned this from a new book I’m reading, and my obsession with it is real, but I don’t want to spoil a future writing.) 

There is beautiful weather to enjoy, things to celebrate, and people who need you to be present and be in community. 

That is where we will see the best in people and, therein, the best that God has given us. 

I know that this is a nerve wracking time, and I know that this is a scary moment for all of us. 

But I also believe that people you love shine all the brighter in the darkest moments. 

So, today? 

I hope you are surrounded by folks you love. I hope you spend some time outdoors. And I hope you watch a little football and put entirely too much faith in young college men. 

It’s the way life was intended. Go Dawgs.