Shrinking the Camel
Be honest. Are things really so bad in your little corner of the world? Granted, you may be a bit more cautious than you were a year or two ago, but are you doing as badly as the news media might want to portray?
Here are some facts to reconsider:
- 92% of Americans are still working.
- Many industries such as packaged food, discount retailers, and health care are doing very well.
- 95% of Americans have not defaulted on their home mortgage.
- 38% of respondents of a December Yahoo! HotJobs survey said they were “Very Satisfied” with their jobs, compared with 28% in 2007.
If you dig around enough in the dumpsters of the dark alleys behind the media outlets, you too may uncover some positive press, scattered like discarded gum wrappers in the trash bin. I found a couple. Thank God, too.
One place where you can go to for a positive word on the street is Good News Network. Log on to this site, and you get nothing but good news. The mission of its founder, Geri, is to prove that good news sells. She says, “Negative news is an important staple of any well-informed citizenry and necessary for society’s evolution. But, today we are in dire need of a well-balanced media diet.”
Amen, sister! Go on, now!
“Local TV news, especially, has been continually feeding us junk food. We need to be informed by a world view that is not dripping with sensationalism and attuned to the police scanner.”
Whoa. What a concept. And she said it in such a nice way, compared to how I just did earlier. Geri believes positive news can improve our lives by bringing emotional well-being, health, and even prosperity. Let’s all go visit her site and wish her well.
I found another positive outlook in a March 4 article in The Wall Street Journal “From Attitude to Gratitude: This is Not Time for Complaints.” The author, Jeffrey Zaslow says, “There may be a positive byproduct from our troubled times: a decrease in the urge to complain.”
Hey! I predicted gratefulness as a coming trend last January. Gosh, I hope that train leaves the station soon.
Sazlow goes on to say, “Homeowners are unhappy that home values have fallen, but it’s a relief to avoid foreclosure. And yes, our portfolios have plummeted, but most of us can say that at least we didn’t invest with Bernie Madoff.”
Recent research from George Mason University says that being grateful is the best way to achieve happiness. There’s actually a big gratitude movement going on in the country. You can find gratitude social experiments, gratitude twitterers, gratitude blogs, and even a gratitude cruise. Just type in a Google search for “gratitude” and you’ll see for yourself.
In spite of the barrage of Armageddon-esque curve balls thrown from the news media, I am convinced we can still find goodness if we look hard enough. Most of us still have jobs – and homes, families, communities, and even some money for a meal at Applebees once in a while.
So dear readers, instead of sinking in to all of the negative news out there, let’s get a little perspective and try to be thankful, shall we? I’m sure if you stop and think about it, you can find plenty of positive news in your life. Friends, family, a measure of love, a good church, small acts of kindness, and your cute little pet that is so happy to see you when you come home at night.
Sure, things can get screwed up, too, but if you think about it, God’s grace is sprinkled all over the place – like the little sparkling flashes you see bouncing off of the black ocean’s rolling waves on a sunny day.
Let’s do all we can to help the country and to help our friends and neighbors in need who are not so fortunate. Jesus reminded us to do this in the gospel of Matthew. He said to look first for the goodness of God in His Kingdom, rather than getting caught up in all the negative. “Don’t worry about tomorrow,” He says, “for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” True, that.
Now get out there and spread some good news.
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