Sound Volume ControlVolume and Balance

I’m not talking about sound. Yet, even I, who don’t like loud things, may enjoy the discomfort of blaring speakers! If only. What? Today I’m watching the volume of drama that is destroying all of us. Even if you are a drama queen/king. Too much is too much!

You only need a single word, and you unfold levels of drama miles deep.

Politics. Social Media. Pandemic. Mandate. Variants.
Defund. Masks. Big Pharma. Vaccine deadlines. Boosters.
My way. Your way. Stuck in the middle.

Overwhelmed, people are drowning. Will we survive? The approach to 2020 was not supposed to be like this! When you hit the golden years, and nothing works the way you knew it would, it’s overwhelming, to say the least. Well-laid plans of mice and men suddenly go awry. [Source]

What do you do?

You could wring your hands, walk in a figure-8, and mumble under your breath. Does that help? Of course not. You could rant at the world with a fist raised to the sky. Help? Nope. Fight back? You’ll only create more drama.

Some dig in their heels, not willing to be pulled into the muddy mess at the middle of the tug-a-war. Others run to the mountains. Escape! Some will even roll up their sleeves and help where and when they can.

Too many people have lost their spiritual values over the years, so perhaps prayer is not their lifeline. For me? I pray. Pray for relief, drama to decrease, turn arounds, families to heal, and return to spiritual values. Pray for the real needs and those suffering, as none of us have witnessed before.

Create a new slogan or catch-phrase? Slogans abound to rally the troops and mend the fences. “Together, we will get through this.” Then, why do we mandate everyone to do things one way? I know. They don’t understand the definition of “together:” we’re together only if you do it “my way.”

Solutions Abound

There are solutions. Some are crowd-pleasers, but not necessarily the right ones for everyone. There will be some solutions that are “based oriented.” As in the way you frame your world and seek out others like you. That’s your base. Too many are using a common phrase, “These are my people.” I’ve viewed it as non-inclusive. It’s an exclusive club to get to my base!

I’m not sure how they work for you, but I’ve found a few that work for me.

  1. Quit listening to the news of a single flavor, find balance.
  2. Return to your spiritual roots. Mine are Judeo-Christian, with my foot on the rock and my mind’s made up!
  3. Even if you have no “god” in your life, praying people have a rock solid bottom to stand on.
  4. Tone down the rhetoric.
  5. Shut off your social feeds.
  6. Listen more than you speak. (One mouth, two ears, should give you your formula.)
  7. Be open for the little things to change your outlook.
  8. Read. For me, the Bible is more important than any other book.
  9. Fellowship. This was key to the early church (Acts 2:42) along with doctrine, communion and prayers.
  10. Don’t follow the crowd of lemmings as they lurch toward the cliff.
  11. Be aware, there are snares!
  12. Watch out for others. Life always seems better when you help someone else along the way.
  13. Find a friend, be a friend. This is just as easily done long-distance.

I’ve given you a baker’s dozen. Do you have something else that works for you?

Volume Is Destroying Us: Overwhelmed, people are drowning. Will we survive? The approach to 2020 was not supposed to be like this! When you hit the golden years, and nothing works the way you knew it would, it's overwhelming… Click To Tweet

By Michael Gurley

Making Sense of Life, One Thought at a Time!