Quiet Dissonance: Balancing Daily Life with Global Strife

Working my way through the list of banned books I haven’t read yet, using this puzzle as my starting reference.

I’m writing this post in an effort to reconcile my thoughts as I’ve been feeling disoriented lately. It’s like we’re all coexisting in two parallel universes simultaneously; on one hand there’s the privilege of parenthood exuberance and corporate monotony, while on the other hand there’s the relentless stream of brutal global suffering broadcasted in our homes and screens, daring us to question its normalcy. The weight of this dissonance is difficult, and it begs to question: does bearing witness to distress from the comfort of our couch enough?

A day in the life to make my point.

I devour audio books while on my morning walks. Last week, the book was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Its story of two sisters navigating the horrors of war gave me pause. Their resistance as a way of survival and preserving humanity feels so far removed from my own reality. An inescapable sense of guilt stirred within me as I read the passage, “If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”

How does my numbness from headlines and corporate distractions even begin to compare? Is it selfish to compartmentalize my grief so that I can experience joy? What an inconvenience it would be for my mind to unravel from stress. Stress…