After thirty years in television news, I can offer this small bit of wisdom: it all leaves scars.

As I once told a judge during voir dire/jury service, I've seen it all: disasters, 9/11, crime scenes, beheadings, on-camera suicides, etc.

The judge, public defender, and asst. district attorney looked discomfited.

Yet, this is the 'real world' a well as the environment we create/see on television, in movies, and in video games. Our culture of excess means we chase it everywhere - crimes in television show become more gruesome/visceral ... and as we deaden our sense of shock and horror, there's another bump in the gore/violence to elicit a reaction. not unlike an addiction - over time, it takes more to reach the 'high' you initially experienced.

I have to admit I have Ukraine war fatigue... what horrified me a few months ago is just now more of the same... and an added sense of doom.

You'd think there would be a counter-balancing force at work, an instinct/need to seek out positive validations … but, maybe it's as Yoda said, the dark side is easier and quicker to join you in a fight.

Walking in Christ's footsteps is more challenging and difficult.

Bartender: "That's true. Hmm... But they can also take sabbaticals, especially before embarking on a difficult new assignment."
Sam: "Are you telling me that the leaps are gonna get tougher?"
– Sam (Scott Bakula) and the Bartender (Bruce McGill), Quantum Leap: Mirror Image