Gaining Perspective

I brought my Internet radio with me so I can listen to my hometown news stations (mostly NPR) and keep up with things. It's kind of weird though to turn on the radio in Tokyo and hear about the Peavine mayor and the City Council feuding over this or that.

When they start talking about politics though I have to switch to the "new age" music station to calm down. The polarization of politics back home is doubly disappointing from afar and hearing about the extremism and the stupid nonsense the 24-hour news cycle generates feels like a needle under my fingernails. So I turn it off and I look out the window at the stars and the planets and remind myself of how insignificant the Rush Limbaughs of our world are. I imagine floating out beyond Jupiter (which I see from my window right now) and looking back at the tiny Earth. It helps put it all in perspective.