"To ignore tragedy and suffering seems almost inhuman and wrong. We need to be aware of what is going on in our world and is afflicting our fellow men. It is part of being human. Of course we need to hold charity in our hearts, as well as mercy, pity, and sometimes empathy. However, when those feelings do not lead to anything productive, or get in the way of things we should be focused on, they become detrimental."
Are you worried? Losing sleep? Feeling stressed?
Are politics freaking you out? How about ISIS? The Zika virus? Personally, I worry about many great and important things. And stupid things. And, occasionally, crazy things. You?
We might just be wasting our time. Our energy. Our emotional health. Even our spiritual health.
I’m sure I’ll get some pushback here, but I am convinced that sometimes it would be in the best interest of our physical, spiritual and emotional health, and the people around, us to sometimes care less. Yes, I am endorsing “targeted apathy.”
You know the expression – “I couldn’t care less.” (Which is the correct version of the common, “I could care less.”) Sometimes that is the right response. . . .
The basic point is that there are some things are completely outside of my circle of influence. Short of prayer, my impact is meaningless. Because of that, any time, energy and emotion that I spend on those issues is stealing time, energy and emotion from things that I can actually impact.