Clueless

There are so many issues around today it is hard to keep track of all the things we are supposed to be upset about!
Thanks to the internet, the 24-hour news channels, the other forms of social media that are growing exponentially, we are bombarded with disaster, tragedy, scandal and manipulation minute after minute (and then there's Fox News!) Even if we are able, by massive endeavor, to keep up with those issues that we care about, there are still those additional concerns tapping us on the shoulder for our attention. And when we have to set limits, draw boundaries, turn away from the Issue of The Day (which is how long most them last or are remembered), we have to deal with our own guilt for doing something!
There is a story about a Sister who was sent to India as a missionary. Soon after she arrived, she found an infant on her doorstep. Obviously, someone knew a religious would take pity on the child. But the next day, there was another baby on the doorstep. And the day after that! Finally, the good Sister turned to an experienced missionary: what she do about these children? The missionary thought about it and then told her.
Ignore the babies.
The actual parents would still be there and would see what happened, and the word would go out to the community. There were other resources they could call upon. There were other ways to handle babies that needed more than the parents could provide. But, in the meantime, the Sister would have to make a tough choice and do what she had been sent to do, rather than dealing with all these babies  she was neither equipped to deal with nor experienced enough to take care of.
I am not suggesting that we should be callous and not care for those in need. If anything, the need is greater than it has been in a long time, and some who might be helping seem to be looking for ways to cut back. But for those of us already trying to handle so many issues (issues not ours personally), we need to decide what is important to us, and how much we can do.
This should not be an excuse to avoid doing what we can do, nor to limit what we already do. It means being aware of what is possible.