For me, touching grass is pretty much quite literally that. I spend spring through autumn outside as much as I can just keeping the grass mowed, maintaining the landscaping, and generally just doing something barefoot in the dirt (or, as much as I can be on my 1/3 acre in the suburbs lol).

"Touching grass" generally just means going and doing something, anything, besides doom scrolling. Or, at least that's how I've always interpreted it.

In the winter when I can't do the literal interpretation of "touch grass", I try to focus on my hobbies.

How do people just be so chill about all this? Am I overreacting? Are they underreacting? What even is the healthy about of fear to have?

Little bit of A, little bit of B. People around here will be quick to tell you differently, but you can't be in fear/rage mode 24/7/365. Look for the good things that are happening. Strengthen your connections with the good people in your life. Take more naps. Unsubscribe from or hide news/politics communities for a few days or even log off of Lemmy entirely for a bit (I swear, some people here make it their mission to keep people constantly raging about something).

Focus on what you can do/change and try not to think/worry about the things you can't (in before the usual response: no, this doesn't mean 'bury your head in the sand' or forget about those things entirely).

Bottom line is you gotta take care of yourself and find a way to look away from the horrors of the world once in a while; the good is still there.