COMFORTABLY NUMB

great title, great song, great way to deal with current world and economic events. a bit of a twist on "ignorance is bliss" but nonetheless it seems to describe the way many of us are feeling lately. its the feeling that we verbalize by saying "well, since theres nothing i can do about whats going on, i hope it will work out OK". we've all said it and we all feel it. so as events unfold and the world changes under our feet, we all use "everything will work out in time" as the mantra for seeing through the scary headlines and 24 hour war coverage. we use the power of positive thinking and repeat over and over to ourselves the comforting saying "things will work out fine, they always do". yet in the back of our minds we all know that this time things seem much more dangerous and uncertain.

as the media floods us with breaking news and our government does daily press conferences to reassure us, it all becomes a blurr. if you think about it too much it immobilizes you. if you try to ignore it you feel out of touch. yet going to work and spending time with family doesnt seem the same lately. there is a pall of nervousness and anxiety that hangs over us. even though it isnt affecting most of our day to day activities its still there. my fear is that soon it will affect us in a more direct and personal way. for our brave troops and their families its very personal. for us its just news.

maybe watching it so much is in some way preparing us for a more intimate relationship with it all. we are definitely becoming more callous about bombs exploding in cities and u.s. soldiers being held as POW's. we are getting used to the nightly reports about our soldiers getting killed. we are learning more about why most of the world dislikes america. we are learning more about the middle east and what it means in the world history. and we are learning that we have had it pretty good for a very long time. we are learning that things can change very fast. i hope they change back just as fast.

so until this all ends, i think i'll go listen to some pink floyd and hope things work out OK!

have a grateful day!

larry