I hear it from so many people I love and respect:
“I don’t follow the news anymore—it’s just too disturbing.”
And I get it. Completely. The headlines seem designed to jolt, overwhelm, and even paralyze. When every update feels like a shock to the system, our nervous systems wisely try to protect us by shutting down.
But my good friends, this is not the time to remain silent.
Not the time to turn away entirely.
This is the time to learn how to stay soft and strong at the same time.
To bear witness and stay whole.
To engage—not because we’re forced to—but because our hearts know:
Engaging is not just something. It is everything.
🌿 A Practice for Engaged Awareness
I recently came across something that moved me deeply, and I want to share it with you. It’s a piece by Rabbi Irwin Keller called “A Prayer for Reading the News.”
It offers two simple yet powerful prayers—one to say before you read or hear the news, and one to say after. Together, they create a sacred container for your heart.
It’s not about blind optimism or fixing the world in one go.
It’s about staying human while bearing witness.
🧘♀️ Before Reading the News
“My God, the soul you have placed in me is pure and vulnerable.
You have created it and formed it, breathed it into me and sustained it in me.
May I read the news this day with my soul intact.
May I read the news this day with my hope intact.
May I read the news this day with my compassion intact.
May I read the news this day with my humor intact.
May I read the news this day with my faith intact.
May I read the news this day as one who is blessed with freedom,
as one who is charged with responsibility,
as one who is called to respond.
Encircle me in a robe of light so that I can witness the wounds of the world
without being wounded myself.
So that I can see the pain and not be destroyed by it.
So that I can see the hope and not be fooled by it.
So that I can see the beauty and not be blinded by it.
Strengthen my soul, clarify my mind, enflame my heart,
and give me the words I need to pray.”
🌬️ After Reading the News
“May the information I have taken in be transformed into insight.
May my emotions be transformed into righteous action.
May my response be shaped by clarity, compassion, and commitment.
May I remain connected to the suffering and to the hope.
May I not succumb to despair.
May I not succumb to rage.
May I remember who I am.
May I remember what I’m here for.
May I remember that I am not alone.
May I remember that we are all connected.
May I remember to breathe.
May I remember to pray.
May I remember to act.
May I remember to love.”
These prayers don’t take long.
They can be whispered quietly.
They can be read aloud.
They can be felt as breath, or as the lightest touch of a hand over your heart.
This is a practice not of avoidance, but of sacred resilience.
🙏 You can read the full post and share it here:
A Prayer for Reading the News by Irwin Keller
🧡 What You Can Do
- Try this practice the next time you open the news or your social feed.
- Light a candle or place a hand on your belly as you begin.
- Share the prayers with a friend who’s struggling with overwhelm.
- And remember: staying informed doesn’t mean losing your light. It means bringing it.
Let’s walk with each other. Let’s be present with the world and still come back to center.
You don’t have to carry it all.
But you don’t have to shut it all out either.
There is another way.
A wise and happy way.
With care,
Bob Martin
A Wise and Happy Life
Solo Leveling follows Sung Jin-Woo, a weak hunter who gains the ability to level up beyond human limits. With epic battles, stunning art, and steady character growth, it’s a must-read for action fantasy fans.
https://www.thesololevelingmanga.com/