09/14/2025
It has been coming up on a year since I turned off the news that I had been following for over ten years. It took about three months for the habit to lose steam, then it took a couple of months of focusing the extra time, both reading and reacting, to be used for things that matter in my I-Witness News substitute: my house, yard, neighbors, and family. What I realized today is that I have changed what I “Let come into my house.”
When I grew up, I could be more controlled. You had to drive to town, buy a book at the bookstore, and then drive home. Then you put it on yourself or beside your bed and read it. If you wanted to talk to somebody about it, you had to either go somewhere or dial a rotary phone, and hopefully they were at home to pick up, and if they did, they had time to yak about the book, or maybe they would just take a pass. Didn’t have to drive anywhere for the newspaper as the man drove by in an old car filled with newspapers in the back seat and would throw them toward the house, and most of the time it was close enough.
Yet still, the same with music: You could listen on the radio to what everyone else was hearing or drive into town, buy a record, and come home and play it.
So, what you “let come into your house” required more work and effort, and if you wanted something you didn’t want anyone to know about, you had to find a place to hide it.
So about a year ago, when I deleted the apps for some form of news, culled my North Carolina and southern USA page to focus only on silly things, sports, jokes, and family updates——I really had lost track of “What I Let Come Into My House,” by way of my brain input, and what come out of my mouth with my family and friends.
So, looking back, what I “Let Come Into My House” now depends on what I let come into my head, what I say, and the conversations I have.
It is interesting to note that I still keep up with the “news " by listening to what people tell me willingly, whether at work, home, or with friends, but I am more interested in the people that are talking about it. They all know that I won’t spend very much energy on the topic, and everyone has been so kind and willing to move on to the personal and their I-Witness News.
I do have an agreement with my freshman college roommate, Dave, whom I trust with all my heart. He follows the news and will send me items that he says, “If you need to run like hell from wherever you are.” He is my bro. He understands. He can come to my house and head anytime. Why? You already know, so I will just spare you that.
I did thought I would be back on the news virtual circuit by now, but it looks like my brain and nervous system is more interested in I-Witness News, my work and the people in my life. And, I vote. I will do the thing that matters most to me.
I listen to people who are uptight and have compassion for that—kindness, and mercy—because it matters to them. Most of us are just scared of thinge out of our reach to really change.
When I am asked, “so what do I do about how upset I am all the time?”
I listen, I tell them what I have done and don’t encourage them in one way or another about the news, but I tell them the story “What I Let In My House,” and I-Witness News, and here is the thing I also have noticed: the only culture you can control or at least influence, is in your head and your house.
And sadly, I-Witness News is sometimes worse that what you listen or watch or read online. It is not always pleasurable, sometimes terrible, sometimes grand, sometimes fun, mostly hard and always meaningful. Sometimes it makes me and other people cry, laugh, worry, and hurt. The list is of the impact of the actual news on your real-world life is endless.
And here’s the thing: human life isn’t.
So, as my mama used to say: “get while the gettin’ is good.”
—-Don Elium, Anchor For I-Witness News
Compassion, Kindness, Mercy—-& What I Let Into My House
