Lately I have paused from listening to the news. I have instead just read a short summary of the main stories, in order to keep in touch with what is happening around me and in the world.
I decided to do this because I felt de-sensitised to suffering by too much information, too much detail and too much horror. It was beginning to wash over me as though it wasn’t personalised, as though the suffering wasn’t happening to a person just like me, with hopes and dreams, with a family and a home.
Even that short break helped to re-sensitise me – watching the news yesterday moved me to see the individual again, and to feel compassion and anger. I felt less hopeless and more able to look for the tiny thing I can do. That compassion leads me to hope.
Faithful Companions of Jesus 