Static

He sat still with his head in hands trying to shut out the images he had seen a couple of minutes earlier. Deep down he knew it was futile. He knew he shouldn’t have stayed too long but he had, it would take him a couple of days to supress the images.

For a long time he had cut himself off from mainstream and social media news sources not for the lack of interest or the availability of a better source, but for the sake of his own sanity. There was hardly ever good news anymore, all that seemed to exist were feats of unbelievable, unimaginable evils of such magnitude that it seemed each new one was attempting to outdo the previous ones. On and on it went like some perversely evil daily version of the Olympics, always relentless, never ceasing like the flowing of a river.

Being constantly exposed to such negative vibes was extremely unhealthy to the mind; he knew this and thus extricated himself from the endless stream. However, the self-imposed exile turned out to be grossly inadequate. The filth seeped into his work, his entertainment his life! Popping up at odd instances as if to remind him that there was no respite, the pain and sorrow of a million others gradually became his, his eidetic memory becoming a curse rather than the blessing he had hoped it would be. It relentlessly stored every bit of negative vibe, news and outrage playing them back at odd hours stretching its tendrils slowing into the hub of his sanity.

He couldn’t let it win, he had to fight it!

But how?

The world no longer recognized the light

It had no will to correct its destructive path

It trudged headlong into the cesspool of its own abyss

Feeding off its own misery and pain

Its peoples meandering aimlessly in and out of virtual village squares

Self-styled judges, juries and executioners of their own misfortune

Falling foolishly for displays of wealth and affluence

Whilst stubbornly ignoring the underlying tales of such riches.

The overwhelming weight pressed heavily on his mind

Threatening to drag him into the black depths of insanity

But he knew, he could not let it win

He had to shield his mind… His only weapon!