Back in the ’70s, I was briefly married to my good friend and second husband, Dick, who was then the Editor of our home town newspaper.
I started to pay attention to what the world thinks of as “news,” and began to call it the “olds.” I begged him to write about good news in the paper, to send his reporters to seek that instead of reacting always to what “goes wrong.” I asked him if he could dedicate some small part of the paper to good news of all kinds. He listened to me patiently, but nothing changed.
I even wrote an official Letter to the Editor in his paper about my need to see real good news in the media. You can imagine how that went across, in our small town, coming from the Editor’s wife. Dick patiently printed it, without comment.
And of course, the “olds” continues still. And our conditioning — to expect, and therefore to get — tragedy, horror, accidents, crime, which then trigger us instinctively into fear and anger — continues to power through us like an onrushing, ever higher tidal wave.
This, despite what we have learned since that time about how expectations set the stage for manifestation. So that if we want to shift our reality, the key is to to shift both how we think and what we pay attention to. Those of us who have undergone this shift — and it is not easy; it’s like trying to turn a giant ocean liner, requiring profound inner work — know that we really do create our own realities, both individually and collectively.
During this time when the “bad news” is ramped up to warp speed, I notice that I am becoming very skilled at skimming the “olds,” just to stay current, but not to get caught up in fear and judgment and blame. Rather, like a witness to unfolding events, I remain mostly dispassionate, though there are times when this quality is sorely tested!
Meanwhile, here’s a site that focuses on the good news. And that, to me, is very good news!
Also, check out Avaaz.org: “Since launching in 2007, Avaaz has grown into a powerful and unprecedented global democratic force.”
“Avaaz has a simple democratic mission: close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want. Our community is unique in its ability to mobilize citizen pressure on governments everywhere to act on crises and opportunities anywhere, within as little as 24 hours.”
And, it’s working! See Steve Beckow referral: “Avaaz, Evidence of Increasing People Power.”
YES. And of course, there’s YES! magazine, which has been leading the way for 14 years.
