The News

Today I am grateful for my sense of hearing and the soothing tick-tock of the antique clock in our living room. I am also grateful for clothes to keep me warm in the winter.

Happy Birthday to my stepdaughter Emily! She is 21 today.

As I watched some news recaps of 2015, that disillusionment and discouragement I wrote about the other day ramped up again. Mass shootings, racism, terrorism, the millions being poured into political campaigns that could be put to better use if we had some reform. . . and the list could go on and on. 

What tops the list of good news about 2015? A stronger economy and lower unemployment rates? Lower gas prices?  Those are good news stories, but how about some stories about average people (all of us!) doing extraordinary things?  Take a look at this website "Good News Network."  Another one is called Sunny Skyz. Here is a wonderful letter I found there, written by a 36-year-old woman who recently died of of cancer. Her spunk and spark will clearly live on.

News outlets are competing for our attention and, sad to say, they know what kind of stories get that attention-violence, tragedy, unbelievable twists. We get sucked into it and it begins to feel like that is all there is. Bad news. Sad news. Discouraging times.

Turn the tide. Read and pass on good news. Share positive happenings with others. Don't get pulled into the "water cooler" discussions about how terrible everything is. Look for the positive and it is easily found.

Look for gratitude and it is easily found.