There are many ways to interact with the world these days. With the click of the mouse, you can be connected to the musings of millions of people: news reports, stock prices, sports scores, the latest gossip, cat photos, status updates and endless forums and message boards of debate and advice.
Maybe the internet, and its accompanying access to 24/7 facts, figures, and emotions, should be classified as a 6th sense. Our brains already sort through gigabytes of data every single day through the five senses, but now our mind is flooded with additional abstract information transmitted by today's advanced communication networks.
Sometimes it is good to step back and reflect on just how much information we are deluged in every single day. Its no wonder so many miss small details and feel overwhelmed and disconnected. Knowing how much is out there in the world can make us feel like we have so little in contrast.
The truth is each and every one of us is enough, no matter how hard we battle a feeling of incompletion. One might say it is one of our quintessential tasks: to mold meaning into the formless clay of the external world.
Be kind to yourself. You are influenced by more people, ideas, and random inputs than any humans in history. Take note when you are drinking from the fire hose. You are bound to be overwhelmed if you pay attention to too many things at once. Attention is a finite resource. We have more demands on this resource today, than would have been imagined not long ago.
Its up to you to decide where and how to tune in. Calm the deluge and you can calm the mind. You do not have too little, we have too much!
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