I’m thinking at this moment about what we feed ourselves. Thinking about what I put in my body and mind…. just like eating a bag of cheetos for breakfast, consuming doses of bad news from every possible source out there also can’t be good for one’s soul. Whether it’s facebook, instagram, the NYT, the Washington Post, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Twitter….any of it in large doses is just plain toxic. There will be those naysayers out there that claim that being “uninformed” will lead to disaster. I think it’s important that we all be informed, and truly informed takes about 10 mins of reading of a trusted source. (those are different for different people…or different political parties). But whatever - just read a little. bit. of news. I skimmed the front page of the online NYT this morning - wow. Doom and gloom central. Here’s the thing - there’s a lot of bad shit going on in our world right now. However, I believe in the power of the mind and energy. I believe if we shift our energy and focus to alllllll the bad news - we draw more of it to us. I prefer (and call me rose colored glasses - I don’t care) that focusing on the love, the kindness, the generosity, the friendship, the BEAUTY of our world will create more of that and turn the tide of what is happening right now. For generation after generation dating back to early mankind - there have been horrible disasters, plagues, political unrest, war, famine…times better and times worse than now. I’m certainly not downplaying or discounting the atrocities that happen in our world. I am challenging people to not put all focus and attention there. Go for a walk, look at the colorful flowers, listen to the birds, watch the fireflies at night, take a gift to a friend, write a letter or a love note, eat a ripe, juicy peach, hold someone’s hand, listen to a child’s laughter, watch a puppy video, for God’s sake don’t keep mindlessly scrolling through bad news. It’s horrible for a person’s mental health, it creates a reality that is so full of doom and gloom that it might feel like a person can’t even go on; I think it makes a person feel helpless instead of empowered. Take baby steps to fix the injustices in the world. Help a homeless person today. Write a letter to a congressman. Vote. Educate yourself on issues you want to better understand. And then live your life. Enjoy the small wonders and pleasures that are all around us. It doesn’t mean you don’t care; it means you DO. It means you are grateful and can notice all of the beauty that does still exist in our world IN SPITE of all of the hard things and tragedy. It will leave your mind healthier, happier, and more able to work for change and personal growth. Your mind is powerful. Your thoughts and words are powerful. Think good thoughts.
In the words of John Lewis who recently left our world - “Be optimistic, don’t get lost in a sea of despair, but be bold, be courageous, and all will work out.”
