Trees
I lived for many years in a land of hurricanes. You got used to them. Now I live in a place where impending rains risk mudslides and trees coming down on the house we're living in. I'm not used to that.
Trying to keep the panic at bay. News headlines serving both as responsible warning and as sensationalist click-bait don't help matters. Media diet always feels good, but it is too late to tune out the constant drumbeat of doom.
Feels like I should bunker everyone elsewhere for a few days. I have rarely felt such insecurity in a home.
It has me thinking about the importance of security for everyday things. Generosity flows from security. Study and learning and growth require security. Play and experimentation require security. Despite the silicon valley ethos of unease, innovation requires security and safety and trust.
And then I think about the media and the doom-scrolling and the constant sell-able headlines. Every murder reported, stories of true crime, Nextdoor's constant adrenaline rush of thefts and neighborly warnings to watch out, an ever-flowing sludge of fear and suspicion.
We manufacture our own insecurity in times of security. And I don't know whether now, with real threats, it is kicked in overdrive or not nearly active enough.