Indeed. Since retiring, I've kind of gotten addicted to the news. I tell myself that I want to be well informed about what's going on in the world. But, truthfully . . . all this information is not making me a better functioning person. Not at all. I'm getting more and more convinced that this world is just an awful place. It provides more incentive to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head.

Yes, I'm touched by how much empathy has been expressed above. I think having an empathetic nature is not without it's cost. I think empathic persons sometimes get exploited. My neighbor phoned me recently. I decided not to answer. I figured she was going to ask me to come over for a visit. I like having someone to visit, but this lady exhausts me. She likes to tell me about all the things that she is unhappy about. Her health problems. Her family doesn't pay enough attention to her. The landlady won't do some refurbishing of her apartment. (She wants a new tile floor.) Her doctors aren't ccuring her ailments. Years ago she was a victim of domestic violence. These stories are on a loop . . . endlessly repeated. She's not much into listening. If I talk, she get's bored and looks away. So I'm kind of avoiding her.

We all have issues. I think the individual has to take ownership and be making attempts to overcome difficulties. Some disappointments have to be accepted. The news, however, is impacting me in a negative way. I need to spend more time with something positive. Right now I'm listening to a reporter in Turkey talking to a couple whose "5 children are still buried under the rubble." So sad. I need to turn my attention toward what I can do something about.