It has been a really long time since I’ve written anything other than a Milwaukee Happy Note. And this morning I guess I’m feeling a bit like it will be good for me to write. And what’s on my mind that I want to write about? Well…there’s a whole lot of tough stuff going on in the world. And all that tough stuff is really hard for me to take. Wars, politics, climate, people treating people badly, etc. The news is nothing but a plethora of horrible stuff (at least to me). I wonder if the news can find anything good going on in the world? Is good stuff going on in the world even newsworthy? Does good stuff in the world sell as easily and readily as bad stuff in the world? Does anyone want to hear of anything good going on in the world? Are we humans constantly drawn to the awful and the macabre at the expense of good stuff? If it’s good do we even care?
I wonder what would happen if the news focused more on good stuff happening? Would we all have a change of attitude? Would we all start to see some good in this world? Would we all start to focus on creating some good in this world? Would we perhaps start to enjoy our world a little more? Would we start to like and care for our sisters and brothers a little more? Would we start to see things that were always there but we were blind to?
Personally, I need to stop following the news. It is too painful for me. It causes me too much internal strife. It takes me too far away from what is good and joyful in my world. It causes me to lose too much hope. It causes me to not want to do anything except crave more BAD news. It causes me to fear and hate and be sad and be angry.
I don’t believe I am burying my head in the sand. I don’t believe I am choosing to be blind to the bad things in the world. I know that bad things exist, have always existed, and will continue to exist. The thing with the news, for me, is that the news makes me feel bad and sad about things that I am absolutely powerless to do anything about. I have to have Hope and Faith that good people in the right places at the right time are going to be able to do something about the things that I can do nothing about. I have things that I can do that have nothing to do with what the news is pumping into me. My feeling bad and sad about things I can’t do anything about only draws energy away from my personal purpose and the things that I CAN do something about. So, I need to focus my attention on my life and the things that I have power to change. The flip side is I need to make sure that my attention is not being drawn back to things that make me mad and sad that I CAN’T do anything about.
Maybe, just maybe, by redirecting my focus I will be the person I need to be for the life that surrounds me and that which I’m a part of. And maybe, just maybe, the news will come around to helping us all see some good in the world and maybe that will help us all to work for something better.
And that’s probably enough for Tuesday October 10th, 2023. Stay safe, stay healthy, keep the Faith, and please help your neighbors. We’re all in this together. We can go the distance. Don’t stop believing. Namaste.
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