I know being a news junkie isn’t exactly good for my mood. If you look around, there is a lot of bad news to be found, and even a whole bunch of “kittens saved from tree” stories won’t quite offset it.

I like to think I’m just being a realist, but in reality some part of me seems to relish the bad news, since it tends to justify my mood. It’s a vicious circle of course; bummed person reads bad news, feels more bummed. Reads more bad news, since the shoe fits. Etc.

I’m talking to a friend the other day and he said something that made a bell go off in my very little brain:

We study the news and tell ourselves it’s to keep our finger on the pulse of things, but it’s actually an attempt to feel like we’re in control; which is an illusion. You can read all you want about a war across the ocean, but you are no more in control than before you started reading.

Okay, that’s paraphrased a bit. But it described me so well that I had to think it over for a while.

I think my obsession with news may predate the events of 2001, but not by much. It’s definitely worse since then. Looking at my bookmarks, I have tons of news sites, some opinion sites. Lately I’ve focused on the economy, before that was energy (tied closely to the economy, naturally), before that it was optional wars being fought around the world. Well, you get the idea.

But for all the handwringing, commenting, linking, whatever I’ve done? I haven’t changed a damn thing.

So I’ve decided, that maybe (maybe) I can spend a little less time and energy on things abroad, and focus a bit closer to home. We’ll see how it goes. It’s not denying that the world seems to be circling the proverbial drain, it’s just realizing that I need to do my bit to keep my own raft afloat, and not worry so much about everyone else.