Day Sixtysix

KEM Hospital 

To exist is to experience the burden of the world.
Mindfulness can assist us better engage with media reporting of tragic events by helping us to engage with the content in a more mindful way by empathising but not over-identifying with the experience of others, or getting caught in our own reactions to it. We should notice any feelings and be aware of them in an open but compassionate way, but not identify with or be consumed by them. 
We can remain present and grounded in ourselves and also focus on compassion - that is, wishing that the person in the tragic situation be happy and free from suffering and possibly doing something to help them. This extra step of acting or at least wishing to reduce suffering is important as it marks the transition from empathy to compassion and is associated with better mental health outcomes. Doing so actually reduces activation in areas of the brain associated with stress (e.g. the amygdala) and activates different parts of the brain associated with compassion and positive emotions. Learning to be present to suffering in a compassionate and nonreactive way while still open to the fact that it’s there, makes it easier to engage in a healthy way with media reporting of other people’s suffering.
There is a somewhat melancholic realisation that the world will remain troubled whether we worry or not. So what do we do? There is little to be gained by excessively consuming our thoughts with worry. Instead we can focus on how we can make positive contributions to society. This can only be achieved if we can manage our emotional states, acknowledge our feelings and be present in our day to day life.
_________________________________________________________________________

 Final results of my twitter poll from yesterday

 _______________________________________________________________________________
Social Distance Podcasts
to socialdistance@theatlantic.com
Finally you managed to do the unthinkable - produce a terribly silly podcast. 
Though the message was seriously simple. 
Regards
KS 
A confirmed addict of SD 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World's First Vaccine?

Russia appears have won the vaccine race. Putin says his own daughter has been inoculated with the vaccine that has been codenamed Sputnik V . But many experts are sceptical and are expressing concerns about the lack of transparency. Russians say 20 countries have shown interest in the vaccine and that commercial production will begin next month. The vaccine has been developed by Gamaleya Research Institute in collaboration with the Defence Ministry. Meanwhile Phase 3 trials of the Oxford Vaccine will begin soon at 17 sites in India. 
Read more

Day Six

Image
A very disquieting day. Many years ago I had watched, Winter Light, the 2 nd film in Bergman’s Faith Trilogy. The film is a searing questioning of God’s existence. It has a character killing himself because he was disturbed that China is building an atom bomb. I never understood it then. But today it became clear when I revisited the film. My blood boils when I hear about China sitting pretty and getting back to normal after exporting their nasty virus all over the world.  Very conscious about sneezing. Almost afraid that neighbours would have heard it. While clearing my throat with my mouth slightly open, I saw a projectile hitting the wash basin 6 foot away. So 6-foot physical distancing makes sense. The other day I read a tweet that Social Distancing should be rephrased as Physical Distancing to avoid social stigma, which is emerging as a serious concern. I was thinking of an electrostatically charged “bubble” in which we can go out safely into public spaces. And I s...
Read more

Day Eightythree

Pandemic was not the kind of emergency that required industries to shut down at 4 hours notice and leave unsupervised for several weeks at a stretch. Especially chemical industry. Every chemical plant needs time to be shut down safely and for being properly mothballed for a long lockdown. This could be several hours or few days, depending on the type of plant. Annual shutdown lasts a maximum of 4 weeks and pesonnel are always present at the site during this period. A long shutdown of the kind we experienced during the pandemic presents several problems to a chemical plant. Material left behind in tanks and pipelines may start degrading, corroding, congealing, polymerising etc. Storage tanks may need continuous cooling. Each plant has to develop special SOP to handle a long, largely unattended shutdown. Authorities should recognise this and give time for chemical plants to shut down safely and allow staff to access the plant during this time. Some plants may also need periodic monitor...
Read more