BY PETER WEIN
Isn’t it funny! You hear it all the time “I’ll discuss anything except Religion and Politics”.
Isn’t that what almost everyone talks about all the time?
With all the divisiveness in the world. Spurred on by people that seem to be included in all the daily news shows, we don’t get a moment to just unwind. Let our hair down (at least some of us still have hair and can do that) and forget about the woes of the world.
Back in the day, before Cable networks. Before Internet. Before smart phones with automatic news feeds, we had to wait for the evening news on Network TV. Or wait until the newspaper got delivered with yesterdays events. We actually had times where basically we were blacked out of the events of the world. While I admit I too like being in the moment when news is breaking and being updated, I actually yearn for the days when it wasn’t in the front of mind. I actually had time (sometimes hours long) to not think of the worlds problems. We could go to an event. We could go outside and play (yes, even as an adult you were able to play). Today’s world carries such an extreme amount of stress. 24/7!!
Even with shutting down the news feeds. Even without watching TV. Even with staying off social media, you can’t get away from it. Oh wait–Yes you can. Take a vacation. Be it a day, a weekend, even a week. Go to the mountains. Go on a cruise. Shut off the phone, TV and radio for a day or even a few hours. Take a break. You remember when you were younger and in love? You could shut the world off from the two of you and just enjoy each other.
On the top of my list for 2019 is to leave the phone at the door when getting together with friends. Going back to the 1970’s-80’s. Actually being together and not talking politics. Not talking religious directives. Just talking about our lives. Our friendships. Our memories. Lot’s of Love. Lot’s of humorous conversations. Lots of the good things that make our friendship work and the reason we look forward to a future connected to each other.
