Being Informed (in the age of mis-information)

There are as many sides to the story as there are characters in the story. Back in the day, it used to be possible to stay *relatively* well informed by tuning into mainstream media. News outlets had a grasp on objectivity – reporters were capable of investigating the many sides to a story and reporting ethically on their understanding of the bigger picture.

Nowadays, mainstream media tends to align itself unashamedly with one side of the story or another. The ‘news’ has become compromised by not-so-hidden agendas. However, many intelligent people still trust that they can stay informed by tuning exclusively into mainstream media.

Things could not be further from the truth. To stay informed these days we must actively seek out contradictory narratives and learn to hold these in the space of our own minds, to feel into our own hearts, until a bigger picture becomes clear to us. This may prove uncomfortable at first, and may take some time, as there are many competing narratives out there and the story is rapidly evolving.

It's not that the story is any more complex than it used to be, but more of that complexity is being revealed to us - we are collectively waking up. It is our duty as conscious human beings to look deeply into whatever narratives we are presented with. And whenever we detect the murkiness of unknowing in our own mind, it is our duty to formulate a question and seek out answers.

The key thing to remember is this: every narrative is valid. This doesn’t mean we should believe everything we hear. Actually it means the opposite – we should remain open, aware of alternative perspectives, but continue to question whatever we think we know.

This means being careful not to be reactive - not to judge and label people who hold a different view to our own. Instead, try engaging in dialogue with an open mind. This will tend to liberate both sides from the echo-chamber of narrow mindedness. In an 'aha moment', it may even expand both individual's perspectives into a much vaster common view.