The newspaper has been a great source of information through the ages. I picked up the habit of daily reading since school and could spend up to 2 hours going through every article in detail. It started with The New Paper then to Straits Times and Business Times. Somehow, time passes quickly and I always feel refreshed after that, perhaps because of new knowledge gained. This empowerment enabled me to converse across a variety of topics and it felt good.
Years ago, that joyful feeling seemed to have slowly disappeared and I only felt it when my wife said something recently. I was sharing with her regarding the number of Covid cases and situation when she remarked, "I know and news nowadays are so negative." That was a light bulb moment and sort of released the uneasy feeling inside which I had not realized. Finally, someone had given me an accurate observation and diagnosis.
So I spent the next few days reading through the papers. The headlines mainly dealt with death cases, natural disasters, crimes, political fights, accidents and so on. There was hardly any positive reporting and even if there was, these usually were found in the later pages with lesser paragraphs. I think it's because bad news are more sensational and perhaps humans are not a happy bunch. The world is feeling much pressure from climate change, virus infections and other existential issues. Our mental health is challenged and made acute through bad news. I just wish the journalists can switch the focus around and present more light hearted news. For now, I'll skim more and avoid articles that could make me unhappy.
Tip: Kitagawa Tomio Junmai Ginjo
No comments:
Post a Comment