The second month of the year is upon us, which means my Dry January has come to an end. As you might recall, my participation in the month of sobriety was a little different. Instead of giving up booze—an attachment I kicked in 2013—I abstained from a sneakier attachment. The American attachment du jour: Breaking News.

This, perhaps, begs a series of questions.

Why did you give up the news?

In the closing months of 2019, I felt the draw to my phone during any moment of silence or solitude. I wasn’t drawn to social media apps, though. (I’d long since deleted Twitter and Facebook from my phone.) Instead, I opened Apple’s News app and scrolled the feed, taking in headline after headline. I could waste a quarter-hour scrolling headlines, and when I’d finished binging, it was as if I were bloated with negativity. Sick to my stomach. Sick in my brain. And still, I couldn’t quit.

How did you address the problem?

I dug down to the roots of the problem and deleted the News app from my phone. I ditched the CNN and Wall Street Journal apps, too. I avoided my go-to news sites except for the day a particular impeachment announcement hit the wire. (In my defense, that announcement related to my work, so I exercised common sense and followed a portion of the proceedings.) I did not tune into the twenty-four-hour spin cycle of Breaking Madness, nor did I stream the circus of current affairs on YouTube. (This, of course, means I missed every Colbert monolog in January.)

Did you read any news?

I didn’t quit the news cold turkey, of course. If a friend sent an article that was (a) unrelated to the political rancor in Washington, (b) from a newsworthy and quasi-objective source, and (c) about an issue that interested me, I’d read it. In total, I read less than a handful of articles per week, a significant reduction in my weekly news consumption.

By the end of the month, how’d you feel?

Giving up the endless stream of media worked some sort of cosmic magic. The first few days were odd, almost disconcerting. But as the weeks wore on, I realized that if I wanted to have a modicum of working knowledge about current affairs, I’d have to stretch into conversations with those in my everyday life. Many of those folks were champing at the bit to share their thoughts and opinions, and as we talked, I found the conversations ebbed and flowed, moved to deeper conversations about family or faith. Come to find out, most folks have a pretty nuanced viewed of the world. Most are not quite as myopic as the media machines might have you believe. (Sure, it’s a truth we all know, but it bears repeating from time to time.)

By the end of the month, I found myself less tormented by the constant stream of negativity and more connected to those around me. I even found a shift in my outlook. Was that feeling something like joy? If not joy, relief?

Did you replace the endless news scrolling with some other practice?

Truth be told, I still found myself scrolling on my cellphone. I scrolled the feeds of photographers on Instagram and scrolled a few Pinterest boards. (I’m currently curating a mood board for an upcoming project.) Yes, I know this might not be ideal, but still, scrolling beauty instead of madness seemed like a step in the right direction.

For the month of February, I’ll try to tackle the endless draw to my cellphone. I’ll try to limit my use even more. How? I’m not sure yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

How was your Dry January? Consider examining your own experience by asking the questions above. And then, feel free to shoot me an email with an update. Don’t bypass the practice.

WAKE UP WITH ME

THE BOOK OF WAKING UP —a book on addiction, attachment, and the Divine Love—launched TUESDAY so order a copy or ten at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookish (my favorite indie bookseller). Then, forward this post to a friend and ask them to read along.