
By Kathy Hendricks
Right after the new year I ordered a sourdough starter. Embarking on this new form of baking was one step toward maintaining a delicate balance between engagement with current events and withdrawal to a place of creativity and calm. After an exhausting year of non-stop political, cultural, and environmental mayhem, I am not alone in wanting to take a breather. Sinking my hands into a batch of fresh dough is a nice way to ditch the screens for something productive and deliciously satisfying. Even so, I recognize that my retreat to the kitchen can only be partial. There are too many vital issues at stake for me to retreat into a state of mental oblivion.
This past week alone, the news has been a succession of breaking stories, each more troublesome than the last. Fires and floods, immigration raids, scandals surrounding political appointees… the list goes on. What’s needed is a bit of pacing in order to remain responsible citizens while also ensuring a level of emotional balance. So, after setting aside a loaf of bread to proof, I turn to credible sources for information and enlightenment. In this day of abundant online resources, it should be easy to find the latter. As we know full well, however, disinformation is becoming a massive hinderance to intelligent discourse and reliable data. My son and I exchanged subscriptions to two reputable publications a few years ago and I find in-depth articles written by seasoned journalists to be a way to achieve the latter. In our ongoing conversation about this blog, Barbara and I share resources that we find insightful. I try to avoid reactivity when newsfeeds pop up on my phone. I also watch for signs of information overload. That’s when I might head back to the kitchen for some welcome respite.
Response
by Barbara Anne Radtke
Kathy, “pacing” as a necessary approach to thriving in the world today seems right on target. Two alternatives, “withdrawal from the news landscape” or “100% engagement 100% of the time,” are both untenable. The former leads to a denial that is like culturally holding our breath and the latter leads to a fast burn out.
For each of us, our pace will be different, but I do believe that pacing in difficult times always includes both directly addressing an issue and a retreat to re-create ourselves. Baking the sour dough bread is your strategy to find the right pace. I am wondering what some of our readers have found as a rejuvenating activity. For myself, I am not sure I have settled on a strategy that will be a steady practice. However, on Inauguration Day, I got out my art supplies and started to paint. Even though I am not very good, I found a respite and a sense of centering. Stay tuned to see if it becomes a practice!
Photo by Ron Hendricks - Used with permission
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