More Learnings and Surprises about Anxiety
- Lucretia Hurley Browning
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
Yesterday I posted about learnings during our travel. I want to pick back up with this topic and talk about my reduction of anxious feelings! I think it warrants its own post.
As we have been in New Zealand now for 5 weeks, I do not feel so anxious as I watch news! Isn't that curious???? I really can watch what ordinarily would be distressing news, and not feel very anxious.
I have thought about this and observed three reasons for the difference in watching the news in USA vs NZ:
There are very few advertisements. Instead of ads, there are minutes of CALM time. There is music, scenery (especially in Euro News, there are scenes from around the world), no talking. There is a little timer that shows how much time left before programming resumes. I must say, these well placed moments of calm help restore my well-being. ALL of the news stations have this practice, even CNN. I think this must be enforced by New Zealand.
During the reporting, there are also videos/photos with no talking that are shared. These might be something like the bombing of a city, Trump moving other G7 leaders aside to position himself, images of flight wreckage and recovery, etc. These kinds of images are shown with the words NO COMMENT as a banner over the images. WOW...that is so powerful. It also allows one to absorb the visual and pay attention to what your response is. Again, a very helpful experience in watching our unfolding news from around the world.
Prevailing calmness and respectful language. Quite honestly, I have heard only foul language coming from our President. Even those who are interviewed refrain from escalating or deteriorating language. Language is more descriptive of the concerns, such as the one I shared from the Brussels' official. I find it amazing that the LACK of crassness and the PRESENCE of civil discourse is so noticeable!!! Again, my own level of well-being is cared for.
Travel is always an eye-opening experience. I learn about myself and certainly about our world every time I travel to a new area. I am grateful to have lived in a variety of places in the USA - from Alaska to central USA to southern USA and now the northeast USA. Our country is blessed with diversity. I have made dear friends in each area where I've lived and I am grateful for what i learned and how I grew in each region of our country.
Travel abroad simply opens our minds to even more cultural and diverse experiences. ALWAYS I learn when I travel (be it in the USA or abroad) that we do NOT live in isolation.
I continue to learn how interdependent we truly are.
Our world is spectacular. Think about it. Think about the world you know, but also beyond. Places perhaps you have never been to before.The regional beauty across this globe is astonishing. My journey to visit my children in this remarkable country of New Zealand helps me better understand, among other things, how climate warming is impacting us all. We are in it together. Surely, we as a society must understand this and think beyond our own home/ neighborhood/ state/country. Oh, that we could listen with our hearts and minds to what is happening around us. Quite frankly, I believe it will take both heart and mind to help heal and mend our planet.
When I return home in a few weeks, I will cherish not only my own home, but also the homes in which I’ve been honored to visit and ‘stay awhile’. I think it's important for us to find opportunities to meet our unfamiliar neighbors and explore their lands. This is good for our individual and global hearts.
Hmm... Experiencing the other and developing as a people creates space for the absence of anxiety, allowing care to emerge. Meet the other, friends. It simply is a blessing.
"All it takes for generosity to flow is awareness. By actively pursuing awareness and knowledge, we can make choices that cause less harm and greater good to others in the global community of our shared earth". Zoe Weil
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