Amid gloom of virus, seek out distractions

During an emergency, we have a duty to stay informed, but not a duty to be overwhelmed, Esther Cepeda writes.

During a national emergency, we have a duty to stay informed — but it is not a duty to be overwhelmed.

There’s no need to keep a browser tab open of your favorite media outlet, refreshing every few minutes to see what’s new. And there’s no good reason to have notifications of every type dinging on your phone, escalating the sense that things are happening fast.

Things are happening fast. We are bereft of national leadership. Some of our friends and family are at risk of getting sick, or are already ill. Still, you don’t need to keep up with every dire, breathless development to stay safe.

And, anyway, tending to your mental health is as critical right now as it is to stay away from crowds and avoid touching your face.

So, even if you don’t have the privilege of staying home — with no worry about your income drying up — and bingewatching escapist TV, you must make space for yourself. Every one of us has to find small ways to just let go of all the weight of this unprecedented threat — and the responsibilities that we have to our families and communities to keep each other safe and well.

Just for a bit, every day, you have to laugh, you have to forget, you have to meditate or pray.

If you have time to watch a movie or some TV shows, pick something that will cheer you. (I just don’t understand the epidemic of people watching terrifying illness-outbreak movies. That can’t be entertaining or comforting at all — just stop!)

If you can eke out some time to read, here are two books that I’ve been waiting for a vacation to dig in to, but I need them now.

The first is “Truth and Consequences: Game Shows in Fiction and Film,” by educator and author Mike Miley. If you regularly say things like “Come on, come on, no whammies!” or annoy your loved ones with “Jeopardy”-intoned “What is...?” answers to their questions, then this book is for you.

I know Miley from the community of fans surrounding “Infinite Jest” author David Foster Wallace, and I can’t wait to get to the parts where Miley investigates Wallace’s love of game shows. But the book has the aim of identifying how writers and filmmakers use the genre as a “metaphor for life in a media-saturated era, from selfhood to love to family to state power.” The book is divided into “rounds,” with each chapter looking at different themes that books and movies explore via the game show.

(“Survey says” I’m going to enjoy “Truth and Consequences,” in no small part because I watched so many game shows as a kid that one of my earliest memories is adoring Jack Berry’s “The Joker’s Wild” but being terrified of the devil in the bonus round.)

Then there’s “Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen,” by Brian Raftery.

Just look at this list: “Fight Club.” “The Matrix.” “Office Space.” “Election.” “The Blair Witch Project.” “The Sixth Sense.” “Being John Malkovich.” “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” “American Beauty.” “The Virgin Suicides.” “Boys Don’t Cry.” “The Best Man.” “Three Kings.” “Magnolia.”

Not to mention one of my all-time favorites, “Rushmore,” which was technically not in 1999, but was released Dec. 11, 1998, and so totally counts.

Of all the movies in that list — I loved every single one — the one likeliest to be scoffed at is “The Phantom Menace,” because “Star Wars” fans are picky. But I love a good villain, and Darth Maul is basically my spirit animal.

The publisher’s description of Raftery’s book reads: “It’s the definitive account of a culture-conquering movie year none of us saw coming ... and that we may never see again,” and I’m stoked to start reading it.

Finally, try to carve out some spiritual time. Whether that’s listening — really listening, with all your attention — to your favorite music, or using a meditation app to time your quiet moments, find a few minutes to be grateful.

For instance, last Sunday I was so thankful because sickness in my house made me miss the last service my church will have for the foreseeable future, but I was able to tune in to another church’s morning service that streamed on YouTube. It brought me much comfort.

In these times, don’t forget that we have to make the space to care for our mind, our spirit and our soul just as carefully as we care for our germy hands.