It's Time to Stop and Smell the B.S.

We’ve all heard the advice to “stop and smell the roses”—to slow down and appreciate the beauty around us. And yes, that’s good advice. But these days, with so much noise pollution, nonsense, and manipulation bombarding us, we also need to stop and smell something else: the B.S.

Not Just Roses: Why We Must Smell the Garbage Too

No, the BS doesn’t smell as sweet as roses. But if we don’t stop and notice it—if we don’t take the time to recognize the rot—we can’t clean it up. It’s like your kitchen garbage can. You empty it, it’s fresh. But after a few days, things start to turn. If you ignore it long enough, you end up with maggots, slime, and a result that makes you gag.

That’s the world we’re in now. The garbage isn’t just in our trash cans—it’s in our media, our politics, our corporations, and even in casual conversations where lies are repeated so often they sound like truth. If we don’t stop and pay attention, our whole society starts to stink. And before you know it, the floor beneath us has been stolen right out from under our feet.

From Stability to Spin: What Happened to Truth?

There was a time when we believed we could count on certain things: Social Security, Medicare, pensions, affordable insurance, stable jobs. Now? Everything’s up in the air. And worse, we’re being told—often with a smile—that everything is fine.

They tell us there will be no cuts to healthcare—then slash a billion from Medicaid. They claim tariffs won’t affect us—then prices skyrocket. We’re told it’s all under control, yet somehow the rug keeps getting pulled out from under our feet. That’s not a coincidence. That’s a script. And we’re expected to sit still and pretend it doesn’t smell?

Media Lies and Economic Manipulation: The New Bullies

Let’s not sugarcoat it. This is bullying. Economic bullying. Emotional manipulation. Truth-twisting. And the thing about bullies is, they keep bullying until someone says, “No more.”

And saying "no more", that’s our job! We are the ones who must stand up—not just for ourselves, but for each other. For our kids. For this fragile world.

But here’s the catch: if we’re not paying attention, we won’t even realize we’re being bullied. We’ll just feel off. Tired. Helpless. Numb. That’s how the BS wins—by flying under our radar.

Trusting Intuition: Your Inner BS Detector

Fortunately, we have a built-in radar system. It's called intuition. And it’s often more accurate than all the charts, reports, and talking heads combined. I spoke with a woman who grew up in California. She was just a kid when Ronald Reagan was on the rise. Her family was Republican, but she said something about Reagan just felt... greasy. She couldn’t explain it as a kid, but her gut said no.

That’s how intuition works. You don’t need to have a PhD in policy. You just need to be present and pay attention. When someone’s lying, you can often see it in their face, hear it in their voice, feel it in their posture—the crookedness of their smile, or the shift in their eyes. Even if your mind hasn’t caught on, your spirit knows. Trust that.

Systemic Greed and the Age of Mammon

Let’s name the deeper sickness: greed. Not just everyday wanting—we're talking about an overpowering greed that devours everything in its path. We’re living in what ancient texts might call the age of Mammon. The age of gold-worship. Of profit over people. Of apathy dressed as efficiency. Of callousness mistaken for strength.

The pharmaceutical industry is a glaring example. We’re flooded with drug ads—smiling actors promising miracles, followed by a laundry list of terrifying side effects. Brain bleeds? Suicidal thoughts? Cancer? But hey, at least your toe fungus might clear up.

We need to be aware that unfortunately, the pharmaceutical industry—like many other industries—has become laser-focused on profit at all costs. They don’t care if people die from smoking. They don’t care if side effects cause lifelong damage. They care that stock prices rise and shareholder wallets stay fat.

This isn’t accidental. This is systemic. This is what happens when greed replaces ethics and marketing replaces compassion. And it’s our job to notice—to smell it, name it, and reject it.

Disinformation and Headlines: Look at the Whole Picture

In this media-saturated world, it's easy to think we’re informed when we’re just overexposed. Don’t get your truth from one source, and especially not just from the headline. Headlines are often rewritten to be clickbait—crafted to shock so you’ll click. Then you may discover the article is quite different from what the headline implied.

Especially on platforms whose profits depend on keeping you angry, addicted, or asleep. Look wider. Dig deeper. Ask more questions. Ask your intuition. Ask your conscience.

If your gut says, “This smells off,” trust it—and check. Cross-reference. Use tools like ChatGPT—but ask for clarity, not opinion. Ask for evidence, not echo chambers.

There’s no excuse anymore for being willfully ignorant. We’ve been handed both the flashlight and the map. All that’s left is to look.

Silence Is Complicity: We Must Speak Up

It’s tempting to come home, collapse on the couch, and zone out to a feel-good show. We’ve all done it. But we weren’t born to be a sponge for whatever the "powers that be" want to spoon-feed us. We were born to participate in this grand, messy, miraculous experiment called life. That means noticing. That means caring. That means calling out BS when you see it—and refusing to swallow it.

Let’s not pretend we’re innocent if we stay silent. If we see injustice and turn away, we become part of the problem. We may not be the ones polluting the system—or the rivers—but if we keep our mouths shut while others suffer, we share the guilt. That’s a hard truth. But it’s one we need to smell, name, and confront.

You’re More Powerful Than You’ve Been Told

Maybe the biggest lie of all is this: “You can’t do anything about it.” That’s what they want you to believe. That you’re powerless. That someone else holds all the cards. But that’s part of the plan. That’s the deepest layer of BS.

You have more power than you’ve been taught to imagine. And you don’t have to fix the whole world. Just start by noticing what stinks, calling it what it is, and choosing not to let it pass unchecked. Wake up. Speak up. And if your inner voice says, “I’m sick and tired of all this,” then say it out loud—and do something about it.

Because the truth is, we’re all standing in the garbage right now. The question is: will we keep ignoring it, or will we roll up our sleeves and clean it up?

What We Can Do: Healing Society’s Wounds

It's time to stop and smell the BS. And then—start doing something about it. And the thing is, out of every bad situation comes some good. So as we sort through the BS and the negative things thrown our way, we will eventually discover the gift that comes after the chaos.

Just as when we are healing a wound. First the wound looks awful and possibly even full of pus. But as we attend to it, clean it up, and give it what it needs for healing, it starts looking much better.

And so it is with this gaping societal wound that we are dealing with. It has been bleeding and infected for many years— injustice, inequality, and lack of caring are not new. If we don't do anything about it, chances are it will keep going in the direction it is going.

But we have the power to change the trajectory of that wound. We can start cleaning it up by applying empathy and compassion where needed. We can look for the source of the infection and clean up the garbage (mental, physical, and otherwise) that is causing the putrefaction.

Healing is a Process -- Not A Magic Pill

Once we throw out the causes of the problems, we can start the healing process. But the healing cannot take place until we get rid of the cause of the problem. So first we attend to the source of the problem and dispose of it appropriately. Then we can start cleaning up the mess that was created—methodically and with care and love. And once that is done, we will discover the gifts at the end of this journey.

All of life's challenges come with a gift... and this whole experience we, as a commons, are going through is no different. Once we clean up the mess, and start planting the proper seeds for a healthy and loving future, the gifts will start to appear.

I Know the Gift Is in There Somewhere!

Do you know the story of the little boy who finds a room with a huge pile of horse manure? He immediately gets to work digging through the manure, because he knows there has to be a horse in there somewhere.

So let's start digging and cleaning up the mess that has been piling up in the world around us, so that we can get to the gift... a life of balance and harmony that works for all... not just the few, and not just the humans.

Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal empowerment, and inner well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of love. joy, and creativity.

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