April 7, 2011
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RWOTD {International}
You know that bird that is the largest of them all?
The one who lays the largest egg of any living bird?
The one who can run at speeds of over 40 mph?
The one that I have something in common with, according to popular myth?
Yup, we’re talking about the ostrich.
What do an ostrich and I have in common?
Well, it is certainly not the “largest egg” thing. Or the “runs really, really fast” thing.
Beings I can barely run at.all. Much less over 40 miles per hour.
I’m lucky if I can run a quarter mile, with body parts flopping and flapping everywhere, before I crumple into a quivering, panting heap.
What we DO have in common is the tendency to bury our heads in the sand.
(I actually did a little extra research – yes, you’re welcome – and found that the idea of ostrich’s burying their heads in the sand is actually a myth and is not really true. Just FYI. But the saying and the myth still remain strong and we all know the meaning of saying: “bury your head in the sand”)
When it comes to matters of international affairs and politics and the such like, I am strikingly similar to the ostrich.
I would just as soon not know what is going on.
Here are my reasons.
You can print them out and study them if you like.
#1 – I feel like I cannot do anything about all of the issues in the world anyway.
#2 – Learning about the awful things that are going on just makes me feel anxious and worried.
#3 – I have enough of things to take care of in my own little world and in relationship to the people around me.
Jeremy and I have quite the opposing view on this whole subject.
To the point that, for one of the first times in our marriage, I think he is a little ashamed of the position I take on this issue.
Jeremy listens to all kinds of news. He listens to Glen Beck. He listens to other talk programs and information about what is going on in our country and around the world. He likes to say things like “All it takes for things to go downhill is for a few good men (or women, as I am pretty sure is implied here) not to do anything!”
When a discussion about the next election comes up, he’s right in the middle of it. Throwing around names that I have never heard and talking intelligently while I try to pretend that I am totally immersed in the book I am reading. That I just went and picked up when the discussion started.
Its not that I don’t care about the suffering in the world.
Names of countries and places that are big in the news flash through my mind.
Libya.
Japan.
Pakistan.
But that is about the extent of my knowledge of what is going on in the international scene.
I know that our country has major problems.
I know that we have a very, very alarming national debt.
I have some information about the direction Obama may be trying to take our country.
I know that this all may effect me one day.
But the truth is…I can barely keep things functioning in my own life.
I’m having trouble keeping the toilets clean, making sure there are clean work pants in the dresser drawer for my husband and keeping the dog hair off of the floor.
I honestly do not have the brain cells or the energy to ponder international and domestic crises. I am not proud of this. It is just the truth.
Does this make me unintelligent? Sometimes I wonder.
Can I be intelligent in other areas of my life but totally oblivious when it comes to the larger issues in this world?
We talked about this in our book club recently. One of the other girls said the same thing…that she quit watching the news and immersing herself in what was going on around the world because it just made her feel anxious. She didn’t see the point in getting worked up when there wasn’t anything she could do.
Bless her heart for making me feel a little better about myself.
Lately, when Jeremy and I were out on a date, at our favorite steakhouse in our area…this subject came up.
Great date material, wouldn’t you say?
So…I asked Jeremy, what do you propose we do to stave off the coming economic collapse?
Practically speaking, if you feel like the country is going to be going DOWN fairly soon, what should we as a family be doing?
He said that #1, he feels like we should get out of debt. Thankfully, we are not so terribly far from that, but it will probably be another 10 years or so before our house is paid off. (This discussion also makes the idea of buying a Harley a little more out of the question…since we would have to borrow money for that. Score one point for Audrey!)
He also thinks that it would be a good idea to buy rice and beans and other canned goods that we could store for possible hard times. He said that we could rotate these foods through our regular groceries if we don’t need them within six months or a year.
I almost started to cry. I am somewhat ashamed to admit it but yes, I did actually get tears in my eyes.
Because to me, the idea of buying MORE groceries, putting them on the shelves in the basement storage room, and then trying to use them by their expiration dates (think large quantities of rice and dried beans), feels very overwhelming to me.
Yeah, that’s how close to THE EDGE I am.
I feel like I should do this. Because he thinks that it would be wise and because he wants me to.
But I have tried it before and it is nearly impossible to use the stuff that I have stock piled in a timely manner and for some reason, it just feels wasteful and overwhelming to me.
One.more.thing. that I need to take care of.
I’m a Mom. I’m a wife. I am a friend. I have a job. I have my own self to try to take care of.
I am just pretty much maxed out right now.
Its not that I don’t think it is wise to be informed about international issues. Its not that I don’t think what is happening in our country is important.
I just think that for this time in my life, I will trust Jeremy to let me know if anything major is happening and I’ll keep my head buried in the sand.
I’m happier that way.
But…if I start laying HUGE eggs…I may have to reconsider.
Comments (19)
i also have a hard time with stuff going on in the world…i often just get so overwhelmed with it. one of the things that i have found especially with the major new systems…is that they dont’ let us forget and they just put it into our minds over and over and if they ave some graphic images that will bring it home even more…then they use those. and in some sense perhaps in my own journey i don’t want to see images of the awful experiences…but at the same time while perhaps its cause i don’t want to feel guilty about where i find myself…i also just feel overwhelmed and have no idea how to help with those sistuations let alone the ones that i’m sure are huge here at home as well.
politics is another thing that i know is important but i could care less sometimes. at the moment we are facing a trip to the polls again..and i’m torn because i always vote but i haven’t a clue who i want… as a Christian i’ve been encouraged to vote conservatively but i have tried to make my own decisions. i voted the way i wanted several years ago for our premier (kind of like a governer i think of the states) and it wasn’t the best choice…so we’ll see what happens this time around. this is for our prime minister and so its a pretty big deal…my issue is withour politics is that we vote for a person who represents us in our area but then whoever has the most people in their party will be the head of the country…so we’ll see where that takes us.
thank you for this post Audrey.
I listen to a lot of the news and such but I don’t really get worried about it. I mean it says in the Bible things are going to get bad in the end times before Jesus can come back. I just listen and let what’s going to be, be. That doesn’t mean that I don’t do my part when I can like voting.
My parents did this awhile back-the buy food and store it thing. I tend to thing that like the verse I read this morning “I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.” Ps 37:25, that God will take care of us. I mean even if we as Christians did have food, wouldn’t it be better to give it away if no one else had it? Also the Jesus says in Matt 6…take no thought for tomorrow-what ye shall eat or what ye shall eat or wherewithal ye shall be clothed. God can take care of us just like he did with Elisha-or was it Elijah, I always mix those two up.
As for getting out of debt I totally agree. I’ve been going though the Dave Ramsey course-so good!-and it’s amazing how fast you can get something paid for if you really put your mind to it and plan for it.
I get this. I used to love politics back a couple years ago, but now I would rather stick my head in the sand. If you don’t know what’s going on, you don’t need to make a change.
The international stuff I still think about a lot, and it is totally overwhelming, and I’m not sure what to do with all the info that we have. Except live the best that I know how. Which is what you are doing anyway. So I might as well have my head in the sand.
And if Gene would like me to stockpile food I would have a couple of crying days too, I think.
I so get this post. I am right with you! I thought I would be the only one around that thought of stockpiling gives me the shivers and feels overwhelming.
hmm…i’m a little bit the same way. while having all the information *does* bog my mind down and make me worry, there is something about being able to carry on a conversation with some sense of understanding. not that i *know* so much, but there are times and instances when i am in a group that discusses world events and happenings, and i at least like to try and look like i have a clue what they are talking about.
i know i can’t change *the* world, but i am responsible to take care of what is mine….actually, what God has given me on borrow, because none of it is really ‘mine’. and, somehow, maybe one little step in the positive direction and we can All make a difference.
good thought process for this rwotd.
I will vote for a president but not spend the next 1 1/2 years watching shows about their qualifications. I don’t like watching news, I find it depressing, especially if it’s about my neighborhood!
Mostly current events are reminding me of the promise in the bible about nearing the end times. And I look to heaven and say . . .”come Lord quickly!”
Matthew 24:6-7
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet . . .For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Oh I understand this post, Audrey! I find the news so depressing & overwhelming. I do like to be in the know when others discuss it, but not enough to dig too deep. Ugh. Makes me feel shallow to even write that. I do care about the suffering going on in so much of the world. I say let’s give generously, pray a lot, help the people around us, and trust God completely. Is that burying our heads in the sand?
I am right there with you. I could get really passionate about politics and that stuff, but I have found I am much happier when I bury my head in the sand. I have too much else to worry about right now anyway.
The way I see it, the people who stockpile will only outlast the non-stockpilers by about 6 months in a crisis, so what’s the point?!
(I might change my mind) I’m sure there is a place for people like Glenn Beck, but it was either him or someone else like him that had my friends convinced that the beginning of this year everything was going to be in a huge crisis. Not to say it can’t still happen, but it didn’t exactly come true like Glenn Beck (or whoever) said, so I don’t put complete faith in what people like him say. That’s just me, though!
I totally get that. It’s funny, but the first 5 years of our married life, my DH was very much into politics. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etc. were listened to every day and he knew exactly what was going on where. I got r.e.a.l.l.y tired of it all. Frankly, I really didn’t care who was running for what office. Fast forward to 4 1/2 yrs. ago, he was ordained deacon in our church. Suddenly, I’m not hearing much about politics. Well, not world politics, anyway. There is plenty of church politics and issues that consume his mind these days.
I do like to listen to talk radio. I like current events.
I actually used to want to get involved in politics…..I however have changed my mind over the past few years.
I like to know what is going on, what is coming up, who is who and what they stand for.
I will admit, I do get a bit worked up sometimes, and I have cut back on how much I watch the news.
(and NOT the Today Show! That’s kind of news is just a joke!)
Here’s what I think. People should have an idea of what is going on, otherwise the government will just do whatever they want without accountablitliy because people aren’t paying attention to what they are doing and voicing their opinions about what they want done.
(Not that they listen anymore!)
However, you said Jeremy pays attention. Jeff knows MUCH much more than I do! He comes home and tells me all sorts of things.
I think that we as wives and mothers we have much more on our minds and can’t handle worrying about things we have no control over.
It does get overwhelming, and it does get me worried about the future sometimes when I hear of all the bad!
I know all the liberal women out there would be all over me for this one, but I think men can handle it more than we can.
They defend and protect! They are stronger in areas where we are not, and I think that knowing what goes on in the world is part of their job as men taking care of their families.
We need to just trust God. That’s it. All that goes on is in His plan anyway. =)
So with you! All the way! I would rather bury my head in the sand any day then have all that stuff cluttering my already full, tired brain! So the news and I are on a need to know basis and most of the time, I don’t need to know!
I’m with you, 100%. My husband and I even have the exact same conversations, and I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m nuts too. I just can’t stand to hear people argue and I feel like most of what we see on the news or those talk shows are just people arguing about hypothetical crap. I don’t have time for that.
I should probably care more since major government budget cuts could affect my job, at a nonprofit agency. But to be honest I’m so busy trying to run the non profit as it is right now that I don’t have time to worry about the changes that have not yet come to pass.
Hey, aren’t we supposed to NOT be worrying anyway?? Lilies of the field and all that. Where’s the faith people??? ha.
Interesting topic. I agree that knowing all that is going on around the world can get discouraging and feel overwhelming. If the depressing news itself becomes our focus, we can hardly help but get down. But I was challenged a few years ago by a friend who always brought the latest news with him to church so that we could pray through world events as a church family. He challenged me to be a bit more courageous about sticking my head outside of my own world and allowing God to use the news to remind me to pray.
I forget that way too quickly. But I have often found that the perspective that I get from focusing my thoughts on what’s happening far outside of the little world I roam around in brings me to a deeper awareness of what I have been given and also of what God is capable of. He is big enough to calm my fears even when I can’t hide my eyes from the storm; in fact, I think He delights in doing so.
i remember when…i watched the news every night before bed and it felt like a treat. i enjoyed following politics even though i never did retain anything ’bout it like The Farmer. i believed in making informed decisions and educated votes. i went door-to-door with 3 small children partcipating in grass roots efforts to drum up support for my candidate.
oh brother. i can’t believe i just wrote that. do i even know what “grass roots” means??? it sounds right doesn’t it?
and NOW? my word. who was that girl? i am on The Edge with life. maxed out. and the thought of rotating cans would have me in tears. i’d rather try to squeeze out the largest egg on the planet. with my head buried in the sand…on a beach in the caribbean! that would be nice!
Ha! I think we have discussed this before. We must have been twin ostrich eggs. : ) And whether ostrich’s (is that the plural?? it sounds funny in my mind, but it’s Friday therefore it takes VERY LITTLE to amuse me) bury their heads in sand is a myth or not, I would rather bury mine and eat sand before listening to the news. ; )
If you start laying those HUGE eggs, you might not need to worry about buying rice and beans!
I get this post! I used to LOVE reading up on all the politics and world events and having discussions about what we should or shouldn’t do. Now, I also feel overwhelmed when I read a snippet here and there and it’s easier to ignore the whole thing!
@forty_watt_bulb - Great perspective!
You could not have described me better. I want to bury my head in the sand next to yours. I’m sure we could find a way to talk through all of that.