Too much information?

My life is so filled with information that I no longer know what to do.

It was a lot easier when I was young. I’d get up in the morning and look out the window. I either saw the sun or overcast skies. I could see if rain (or snow) falling. If I felt cold, I out on a jacket or coat. And then, regardless of the weather, I headed out the door and walked to school.

Now I check my phone to check the current temperature as well as predicted highs and lows. I look at the hour by hour prediction of rain. I watch a moving radar map to see if a storm is headed my way. I zoom out to see if there are any storms in other places where I might be going that day. Should I bring an umbrella? Will an event be cancelled? Should I hunker down at home? Am I feeling lucky, as if I’ll be on the sunny side of a fifty-percent chance of rain? Sometimes I don’t know what to do.

When we picked up our Great Dane puppy, the breeder gave us tips from her years of experience. She advised us on the kind of food to get and when to neuter our female. When we got home, we took her to the veterinarian for her next round of shots. He gave us completely different advice about food and age for spaying. Of course, when I got home, I got online and did some research, hoping to break the one to one tie. That didn’t help. I found plenty of expert advice to support either recommendation.

It was a lot easier when I was younger. I brought home my first pup with a bag of inexpensive food and we were both happy for his fifteen-year life.

I don’t find online reviews to be helpful for much of anything. There are just as many negative as positive reviews for products, physicians, restaurants and jobs. Are those reviews even legit? Or are some of them fake? Who knows?

It was much easier to walk in the store, pick up an item, and buy it if you liked it. Or if you enjoyed the meal, go back to that restaurant. If not, go somewhere else.

In the wake of my retirement nearly two years ago, I still get conflicting information. “So-and-so was still preaching well into his nineties.” Another person kept working, fell ill, and never got to enjoy their retirement years. “You know, the bible never speaks of leaving the workforce.” And, “I’ve been retired more years than I worked. I highly recommend it.”

It seems like there are many more experts in this world than there used to be. If I listen to all their advice, I might not do anything, paralyzed by too much information. So I think I’ll just look out the window, play with the dog, purchase what works for me, and daily learn first-hand about life, retirement, and purpose.