It seems that the world is getting worse and worse every day–no, every minute of every day, especially when we read or watch the news. It’s always bad, bad, bad. That is my main complaint about the news today.
The truth is, there isn’t really more bad news happening in the world than there is good. There can’t be because governments all over the world would collapse if there were constant war, crime, famine, homelessness, and joblessness. But that isn’t the case, is it? Now, that isn’t to say there aren’t parts of the world suffering from horrific things. Those things are happening. But it can’t be the only thing happening in the world. If the news told accurate stories about our world, there would have to be more good than bad.
If only the terrible things were happening all around us, there would be no law and order, our economics and government would be crippled, crime would be everywhere, and you and I would not feel safe in our homes, let alone feel safe to leave home. And yet, mainstream news only tells us bad news every day, all day long. What a load of crap.
And bad news divides us all. Whenever we see something bad in the news, what’s the first question we ask? Who’s to blame, right? There’s always someone to blame for every bad thing we see on the news. Shoot, we even blame Mother Nature for raining too much or not enough, it seems. Once we place blame on something or someone and have added all that stress on ourselves, we make decisions about who or what is to blame. We judge, we get angry, and we even threaten who or what is to blame. We literally cut ourselves off from the thing to blame.
Who’s to blame for the local problems we have here in the States? Well, certainly, if you are Republican, it’s the Democrat’s fault, and if you’re a Democrat, it’s the Republican’s fault. We have lists and reasons why we believe these things. And it seems we are more divided now than ever before. That, to me, is the worst news of all.
Finally, bad news adds stress. And the more we watch bad news, the more stress we add. And what happens when we find blame? Our emotions and feelings turn all bad towards that person, organization, nation, or even Mother Nature or corporations, causing all this bad news that’s adding so much stress on you and me. And I don’t know about you but added stress makes me less and less happy in general. It literally takes, no steals, the joy in my life.
And what happens when we feel bad emotions? They hurt us. They cause unnecessary strain on our minds, body, and emotions. I’m guessing your life has enough demands just getting from one day to the next. Why add more unnecessary stress to our day?
But here’s the power of good news! Good news always brings joy and happiness. And why is that? Good news tends to remind us of the good in humanity, in our neighbors, in our communities, and in ourselves. Good news binds us together and reminds us that, in general, most of us do more good things than bad and we have more in common than not. And what happens when bad news comes? We can choose to focus on the bad and the blame thing, or we can focus on the good happening in every disaster, every war, every bad thing known to humanity.
Recently, I watched a movie called Thirteen Lives, in which twelve boys were stranded in a cave in Thailand for twenty days. And I’m old enough to remember this event as it happened on the news. Now, that sounds like bad news, and it was when it was happening. But the whole world watched the story as it unfolded, and many parts of the world lent a helping hand to rescue these boys and their coach. The whole world practically held its breath as, one by one, these boys were rescued.
During the period of that story, we were one people. We weren’t divided by religion, politics, or flags. We were all members of the human race. And isn’t it beautiful what we as humans can do when we come together? Not only can we save lives, like in the story of the twelve boys, but we can add joy, happiness and greater meaning to our daily lives. We can build communities that bind people together. And just like bad news, good news can be just as contagious, if not more, than bad news. Why is that, do you think? Well, I think it’s as basic as it makes us feel good, and we prefer the feeling of good over the feeling of bad. So, I will always be a fan of good news, and I hope you are too!