Fall Distractions

by Deanna

I think we need the distractions of Fall.  We have had a summer filled with rather grim news, the civil unrest in Ferguson, MO had a similar look to Baghdad, more threats from the Islamic States, the devastating effects of the Ebola virus in Africa.  Now combine all this with the droughts in California, the crisis on the Mexican border, the sad death of Robin Williams, the loss of faith in our elected official….so yes, a distraction is definitely needed. 

Fall brings, along with it its distractions, a sense of order that can’t be found in the non-structured schedule of summertime.  Fall brings back a more ordered life, a new season of football, a brand-new season of TV (altho some may be cancelled in the first 2 weeks) and to those with young children, a new school year.  And to us photographers glorious colors and golden light to capture. 

This age of constant breaking news, through our computers, through our smart phones,  even on large screen TV’s when I enter the bank or a restaurant surrounds us continually. A professor at Purdue University, Glenn Sparks, recently stated “The research clearly shows that when the predominant characteristic of the news flow is negative, people can really be affected by that in terms of their overall mood state. There can even be reactions that resemble post-traumatic stress symptoms when it’s really severe.”

So again I say....I think we definitely NEED the distractions of Fall.  Pull out those sweaters, bake something with pumpkin in the ingredients, revel in the cool days and even cooler evenings.  Grab that camera and capture those brilliant colors that come and go so quickly. 

This is not to say that we should forget about the problems, or that we should stop listening to breaking news, it just means we need to take a mental break from all the bad news and welcome the beautiful distractions of Fall.