FINDING THE GOOD NEWS IN LIFE

Red carrots for sale - “Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid.”

A few years ago I read of a Ukraine businessman who bought a pager for
each member of his staff as a New Year's gift. As he was returning
from the pager shop, all 50 beepers on the back seat of his automobile
simultaneously burst out screeching. He was so alarmed that he drove
his car into a lamp post, just 100 meters from his office.

After he assessed the damage to the car, the businessman turned his
attention to the message on the 50 pagers. It read: "Congratulations
on a successful purchase!" (Reuters, Jan. 14, 1999)

That got his attention. Unfortunately, it's the bad news – newspaper
headlines and world events – that generally clamor the loudest to get
noticed.

And there is enough bad news all around. I came across an article that
reported a study of a large group of people who were instructed to
evaluate all the information they received for a year and a half. They
were asked to record whether what they were seeing and hearing all day
long was positive or negative. These researchers determined that
ninety percent of the input the group received was negative – bad
news.

That may not come as a surprise to everyone. Over a half-century ago,
Franklin Roosevelt told about an old man who was losing his hearing
and went to the doctor for help. He was advised to quit drinking
alcohol. When his family asked him what he was going to do, he
replied, "Well, I've given it a lot of thought and I've decided I like
what I've been drinkin' so much better than what I've been hearin',
I'm
just gonna keep on gettin' deaf."

But there is still GOOD news aplenty. We can still hear encouraging
words from friends. Any day we can witness numerous acts of generosity
and kindness. And we can still spot signs all around us of love and
hope. Sometimes we may have to look a little more closely, but the
good news is there.

Are you finding it? It's worth the effort.

From Lifesupport

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