Too Wired or just Plain Tired

To anyone that bothers to read this, Happy New Year!!

I know it’s been a while since I wrote... sorry let me rephrase, since I had a rant!!! I could make all sorts of excuses but, the main reason has been time and if I’m being totally honest, the past year has, at times, left me feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the rapidly increasing bombardment of social media and the endless drivel of useless information that seems to find its way into what these days is referred to as “the news”!

During 2013 this persistent noise of information, opinion, statement, narcissism, egotism, call it what you will, started to leave me feeling apathetic towards all sorts of causes; some of which genuinely deserved my time. This realisation has given me cause for concern, because for a long time I have taken a very dim view of apathy, citing it as a major catalyst in the demise of our society. Not that I don’t think it’s occasionally good to take a step back, listen and observe the world around us. I do believe however that we all have a duty to point out and act when we encounter something that is genuinely wrong. There are far too many examples from the history of mankind where good people have stood by and watched while large scale injustice has been allowed to prevail. Then afterwards the world always asks the question “How did it come to this?”. I understand, it’s not always possible to act in a practical way, but we can still speak! We have a voice and we should use it.

So, in 2014, how do I prevent myself from becoming overwhelmed and apathetic once more? Simple, I have decided to prioritise the way I use information. While it is not always possible to completely control what information I may encounter, I can certainly decide what I take in and how I intend to use it. I am going to try and use my time more wisely when it comes to choosing which causes to contribute to or comment about. Anything I decide to dedicate my time to must be worthwhile and useful, not just to me, but others too. After all a wise man once said:

                                                                                                                                             
 "We must use time wisely and forever realise that the time is always ripe to do right."
                                                                                                                Nelson Mandela

Just one more thing... I found it rather amusing this week to hear that there is currently a major debate over who has the right to claim territory on the moon. Some lessons are never learned!