Dear Readers and Friends,

Excuse the generalized greeting, but I didn’t want to miss any of you with this brief note. I have spent many hours in the last few weeks talking, exchanging email and text messages with many of you.

You’ve all expressed your frustrations, misgivings and insecurities about all our futures.

I get it. It is a terrible time for all of us. From natural disasters to political and military ones, it’s as if we are riding a runaway mine car in a 1950s cartoon. Except this is no cartoon. And despite what anyone tries to tell you, it’s not “just like the 1960s.”

We’re all stressed, angry, and generally fed up. On thing that many of you have correctly pointed out is that our so-called leaders seem to be deliberately stirring the pot to keep us bickering among ourselves.

That’s no accident. If we’re fighting each other, we don’t have the time, nor the clarity to realize that they are the problem. (Warning: I’m about to go “Biblical” on you.)

There’s a verse in the old testament that explains why we’re in a proverbial pickle.

Proverbs 28:19 is simple, but carries deep meaning: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

We’re keeping the law. But the people we entrusted to safeguard them went rogue. They ignore rules the “rest of us” are supposed to unquestioningly follow.

Their vision is no longer our vision. We don’t like theirs. They don’t appear to care care.

What to do about it is the question in need of an answer. I don’t have one.

But I do have a suggestion.

Instead of worrying about all of us, take stock of your personal situation. The part of the world you can influence.

If you’re like most of us, you will have a home, power and running water. Possibly not everything you want, but everything necessary.

Some of our fellow citizens don’t. My suggestion’s not for them. They’re trying to survive.

Stopping to take stock of their situation might push them over the edge to hopelessness. They’re praying their situation changes for the better. (A sidebar: If you’re in the position to do it, help someone in a bad situation. It will be good for both of you).

So…finally… here’s my suggestion: do something that’s good for you.

Clear your mind.

Stop scrolling through social media. Don’t prowl the headlines. Stop obsessively posting, checking to see what’s trending, checking your “likes” or any of the stuff you do because you’re trying to avoid acknowledging you’re anxious, insecure, or mistakenly believe filling your time with busy will fix your real problems.

You are feeding your own neuroses.

Instead, try something different. Put on some sneakers and take a walk - yes, outside.

Read, write, swim, fish, bike, hike, sail, climb, hit, pitch, throw, catch, whatever.

Do something other than sitting around stewing.

Instead of feeding your own flavor of crazy, go do something you enjoy.

Heck, go do something you hate.

Just get out of the digital and into the analog world.

I’ve already started.

Turned off my computer when we finished last night. Have no plans to fire it back up until we start prepping our next editions on Monday.

My weekend will be spent with family and friends. I’m blessed to have both.

It’s definitely not what was on my planner for this weekend. Plans change, but needs get worse if we ignore them. I need time away from this computer. So, I’m taking it.

A long career in “the news” has taught me (the hard way) that occasionally you must step back, take a few deep breaths and relax.

Otherwise, the world will smother you.

Doesn’t matter if you’re smothered by frustration, angst, or anger, smothered is smothered.

You can’t fix the whole world. But you can rebalance yours.

Can’t hurt.

— Jim Shepherd