Dear Ruthlessly Insensitive Media; Re: Fears of Bali Volcano Eruption Spark Exodus of 75,000+

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We've clicked your insanely difficult not to click, articles, congratulations! I hope that click bait got you an extra buck on your built-to-order paycheque!

I'm not going to be as nice and friendly, butterflies and glitter as normal because I am quite frankly too exhausted from being dragged through piles of stress this week. Why? because you're capitalizing off of our panic and it's not very nice-like, I have to tell you... from the heart.

Have you checked your stats and seen how many people clicked on your article? Will you calculate or do you know how much money you made off each of those clicks? Where are those people 'tuning in' from? Are they here in Bali or are they elsewhere? What motivated them to click on this article do you think?

I think you should draft a spread sheet! I think you should give a little bit of time and attention to the people you're scaring the SH!T OUT OF!

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I got a distress call from my mother today who has been checking the news as fast as her screen can refresh to see if I am OK as 'imminent natural disaster looms.'

I am of course OK since I am writing this (though, obviously grumpy to have to be having this heart-to-heart but since that's what I'm here for, here we are!)

However, if you didn't know what was going on and you read those catchy-beyond-nightmare news titles, you'd be questioning and stressing out of your mind too! Hell, I'm here and those titles give my heart rate a run for its money!

Media, I get it. My degree is in Organizational Communications. I sat through so many lectures on this subject matter but for &%$# sake's... could you tone it down a bit?

You're giving me a heart attack over here. Shoot. I am living here, fully able to see and hear everything around me and your twisted truths have got me all confused and terrorized.

Today, I drove an hour and a half away from the volcano to extend my visa! That's right extend as in, stay here, in Bali longer! As in, not leave! As in, I know there is this threat and I still want to stay in my sanctuary, paradise home. That happened after turning off all of my electronics and paying mind only to what was actually going on, not what you are reporting.

See you, you are painting this grandly perfected vision of our worst fears, aren't you? We've got images of Dante's inferno and Pompeii driving everyone's imagination wild.

Today, I found myself falling into the hazy love affair that this paradise brings, after falling asleep under the luminously enchanting sun at one of our island's gorgeous beaches...

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Can we just take a second to acknowledge that masterpiece for a moment? Looks like things are pretty normal to me!

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I got home and had just walked into Wifi to be met with a startling text.

"They say it's gunna blow in the next couple of hours!"

Well, that's incredibly alarming for someone like me with as intense anxiety as I have. I went from pleasantly walking on sunshine to sitting at my computer, trying to book an immediate flight out of here!

What happened?

Your damn fear mongering is effective and it's dangerous!

I ended up going from being calmly aware and prepared for our unpredictable possibility of natural unrest to having a panic attack in a matter of one article!

Guys, come on! That's not loving, nice or caring!

Getting people drunk off of fear is so unhelpful! In cases of natural order like this, where we have little to no control over what happens, why are we not trying to be more supportive and calm about it?

I have spent the last few days being drawn in like a zombie to the irresistible titles of the talented press out there, reading a whole lot of over exaggerated and manipulated information.

At one point I got so wrapped up in all of the negative gossip, sucked in by all the fear porn, terrified and convinced my life was over, I wrote a post about how my anxiety was wreaking havoc on me and my uncertainty concerning Agung.

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Here's the thing, I am not able to blame you all. You could be misinformed. You could be nervous too for all I know.

I am even going to be sweet and kind enough not to call anyone specifically out for their BS, you know who you are! If you're one of the journalists guilty of this, I hope you find yourself reading this somehow and it causes your heart to show you what other people are feeling.

Let's just see what I know to be true:

• Yes, there is activity right now coming from our biggest volcano, Agung.
• Yes, thousands of people have been evacuated from the no-go zone, in the perceived impact zone of an eruption.
• Yes, we have had increased seismic activity (I have woken up multiple times to the house shaking!)
• Yes, animals have been seen coming down from the volcano.
  And all that said, it sounds like we may have an eruption coming soon...

But:

• There are specialists over there on constant watch.
• There is non-stop coverage from people on the ground.
• The airlines are closely monitoring the situation and the airport is still functioning.
• The government is enacting precautionary measures to ensure minimal loss and is working closely with families who were evacuated.
• Days are going on as normal for those outside of the no-go lines.

There are tons of tourists over here on holidays, here for weddings, joining retreats, letting off some steam, getting jiggy with it, you name it! Bali is a paradise hot spot for people to come to for a myriad of reasons with its unique diversity.

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Here's a picture of one of our most popular beaches, with hundreds of tourists out of the millions that come every year!

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Now, you're scaring them with your headlines telling them to reconsider travel and all that jazz.

The government says everything is fine and flights are operating as normal so now you've got Twitter all clogged up with panicking tourists and worst, panicking family of tourists... and that's just not good for anybody.

So, in closing, can you just fly in and take a look for yourself or stop copying and pasting from each other to report properly?

People are putting their trust in you! You are their connection to front lines.

This isn't a joke, these are people's lives here we're talking about. I'm sitting in my house far enough away that I shouldn't be in danger but there are people who aren't in the same situation. Real live people have been forced to leave their homes as a safety measure and are in need of loving thoughts in this unpredictable time!

Let's all pray and send loving energy and thoughts to beautiful Agung and all those who may be affected here on the island.

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Yes, I am available to speak to you should you like an insider perspective! I am just over here, trying to ignore all of your clicky-mc-scary-taglines as to not upset myself all over again!

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Sorry to everyone who knows me and are used to my loving, inspiring approach on life. My anxiety is shooting through the roof and I cannot handle how our news agencies can get away with this! So my heart thought it was time to poke back at them into the space they're filling with so much fear and suffering!

As soon as I can reign in the eruption of anxiety this has sparked inside of me, I'll make a delicious vegan treat or write you a fun story... or or or... maybe introduce you to my two new rescue puppies! =D

Sending you a big virtual hug- and for all you reporters out there- I hope this probes you in the heart strings and makes you want to share some love instead of intense, overwhelming, heart-attack inducing, fear next time!

OK, see you again soon (because Bali is not going to blow up!)

XO,