Amy Poehler’s eyes are tired. They’re tired of the bloody, gruesome and heartbreaking images being projected around the clock of the Boston attacks.
She imagines yours are too.
The “Parks & Recreation” star took to making a video on her “Smart Girls Channel” Thursday as she often does, but let her funny woman persona sit this one out. She, instead, offered some sober words of advice to those who are wrestling with how to stay informed about the unfolding tragedy, without getting consumed by the grave, heart-wrenching photos that we can’t unsee.
“Doesn’t it just feel like we’re just bombarded with stuff now? Everywhere we go there’s just one picture that’s worse than the one before.” Poehler said. “I wonder if we could soften our hearts and minds and our eyes. I wonder if we could give our eyes a break.”
Poehler’s emotional message was prompted by a 16-year-old viewer who told the comedienne that she often feels pressured to watch the videos and peer at the photos that go viral on the Internet because her friends do, even though they don’t necessarily bring any meaning to her life, or to the situation at hand.
The actress used the question as a launching board, to suggest how we can take a thoughtful approach to the tragedies in Boston.
“Maybe try to see things in a different way –- try to see things by reading about them or talking about them or listening. I kind of feel like my eyes need a break,” Poehler said. “It’s OK to not be looking at what everyone else is looking at all of the time…Be OK with letting some things rest in peace.”
We're certainly gonna try, Amy.