Random Act of Metaphor: Going Off-Line When the Headlines Rewind

Hmmm, has my empathy reserve run almost dry or have I just become too good at tuning out bad news?

I went for a quick lunch at Tim Horton's today. Ducking out to Tim's, for a brief diversion from the hustle and bustle of a typical work day, is a tool I've added to my arsenal of modern life survival tactics.

I snagged the last table available and settled in with a sigh. As I was consciously putting aside the day's 'to do' list, I slipped a gear and found myself tuning into the ambient buzz around me. It was a constant babble of voices, mixing, mingling and tripping over each other, which melded together into an unintelligible din.

Not at all the relaxing break I had in mind. And yet, I've been there at several times before without being bothered by it. It's quite fascinating the way we can calibrate our brain to tune in or tune out what is happening around us.

It's a useful, and sometimes mission critical, survival skill we often have occasion to call upon in our over stimulated world. But it's also easy to abuse.

I've allowed myself not to think too much about the earthquake in Turkey this week. Or the long road back for the Japanese after the devastating earthquake and tsunami there. Or the drought in Africa. My empathy reserves, it seems, are in need of replenishing.

The selective consciousness we practice, often without intending to, is today's random act of metaphor – reminding us that we sometimes need to consciously tune back in even when we would prefer not to. Putting our empathy off-line is a bad habit to get into.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog. Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

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