With age I desire more than chocolate alone. I crave encouraging news casts and positive media reports. Yes, I want information about current events, but I don’t need the regularly rising rivers of negative facts about the war in Iraq, Middle East tensions, or bombings in other areas of the world, not to mention myriad sordid crimes across the U.S. and other countries. If I allow myself to swim in the media’s currents, my mindset suffers and I feel unbalanced, even sad. The media, in general, lack balance between upbeat and downbeat stories; it’s rare to read good news about people in my local paper or in major online publications unless I dig for buried columns and small snippets of good deeds. And forget about TV news casts. They depress me with visuals of violence.
In light of this month’s issue and my constant desire to maintain flexible balance, I hunt for online good news networks from time to time. My latest find, Gimundo: Good News Served Daily, serves up true and positive stories about people everywhere. Gimundo’s newsletter delivers a daily dose of the good stuff. Plus, “its online community facilitates engagement via forums, chat rooms, blogs and video sharing.” The newsletter’s headline today reads: “World's Only Known Rabies Survivor Graduates High School.” A few days ago it read, “Family Brings Fallen Soldier’s Puppy Home from Iraq.”
Another source, Good News Network International, delivers a weekly newsletter with similar inspiration from around the world.
Good news stories feed my mindset like chocolate feeds my soul. Both stabilize my perspective and build a strong platform for positive thinking, garnering an enlightened view for the world. Overall my mindset energizes my writing.
What do you do to keep your mindset positive and strong? Any suggestions?
Sue
Sue,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. It's not that I choose to bury my head in the sand, but honestly, the news spins stories to create sensationalism and a state of fear, which twists reality and warps readers' views. That's something that I personally choose not to subscribe to. In fact, that's why we created WOW!
I truly believe that you don't have to scare people into listening. It's a well-known fact that sensationalism does attract attention... and I choose not to subscribe to that concept. I could go on about the way the media (including the government - think "Wag the Dog") spins things to suit whatever political agenda they believe that the public should experience... but I choose not to sink to that level. I believe that honesty is the best policy, and helping out readers is key. That's what makes us different, and I've heard that nice statement from our readers many times before. :-)
I appreciate this post because it's something I've thought all along, but didn't want to point out. Truth is all about letting someone share their honest opinion without spinning what they say to tailor a certain trend or create a twist to a story. Let's leave that one for fiction! Where it should be, LOL.
Thanks for the insightful post. :-)
I definitely avoid most of the news...way too negative.
ReplyDeleteOne think I like to do is get out in the fresh air and plant something or pull a few weeds...get my hands dirty. Or, I'll go toss the tennis ball for the dogs for a bit. That always seems to freshen my mind and give me a new perspective on things.
Of course after both I have to wash my hands before getting back to the puter. Ewwww...dog slobber:-)
Jean