🌍 The News Tried to Steal My Peace

The news today came in like a storm with no manners, shouting about wars, prices, politics, and people forgetting how to be people.

I sit here with my bowl of oatmeal cooling, thinking, this can’t be all the world is now.

My psychiatrist says, “Limit your exposure.” But as a child, I grew up in an era when the news came on only three times a day. Right after supper was the only and best time to watch fully conscious. Not every second like a nervous tick. Back then, you could turn the TV off and walk outside without the world trying to follow you through your phone.

🪶 The Origin of “News”

Most folks don’t know that news wasn’t always about fear and ratings. The word dates back to the 14th century; originally used as “newes,” meaning new things or new tidings.

Later, people began saying “the news” to describe fresh information being shared, whether it came from a traveler, a king’s court, or a church bulletin board.

There’s even an old legend that the word NEWS came from the four directions (North, East, West, and South) as if information from every corner of the earth gathered to form a whole picture. Whether fact or folklore, that meaning carries peace: news was once meant to connect us, not divide us.

🌾 The Real News

So today, I did something radical: I turned the volume down and stepped outside.

The chickens were fussing like gossiping aunties, the wind was humming that old Sunday tune, and the air smelled like wet dirt and mercy.

That’s the real news: the earth still turns, breath still fills lungs, and God still paints the sky for free.

I’ll stay informed, but not consumed. Because I’ve learned peace doesn’t trend, it has to be chosen, one quiet breath at a time.