Why I Don’t Watch the Evening News … And Some Really Good News

Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I watched the evening news. And I learned something. Their news was of deception, murder, fear, greed, celebrating greed, and people gossiping about other people.

And I learned, yet again, why I don’t watch their news.

Because if I didn’t catch myself, I would have gone to bed depressed, angry and believing the world is a horrible and hopeless place.

Now, they will say the news they choose to convey – out of all the real news out there -- keeps you knowledgeable and safe. But in reality, it detracts from knowledge, because it focuses on the exceptions and makes you want to believe those exceptions are the rule. And it makes you angry and scared, and those states don’t keep you safe ... they provoke even greater fear that you are unsafe. And this fear itself is what diseases the mind, kills the spirit, and holds you back from your happiness.

But then they’ll say hey, you can’t turn your back on the world and its suffering and issues, and that is why they choose to report the particular news they do while ignoring all of the other far better news.

And that is total nonsense.

The Reality??

First of all, if you absolutely must tell us about the boy who boarded the Chicago public bus and shot another child, don’t put all that focus on the crime. Spotlight the crime and its perpetrator less and tell us more instead about all that is good and right that flowed forward in the face of this bad: the paramedic dedicated to trying to save the child’s life; the cop who held the crying witnesses in his arms and calmed them; the social workers who conveyed and will keep conveying to witnesses that their lives will go on and it can be good; the grief counselors and ministers who will help the victim’s family cope and love and go forward.

We are under no illusion that the world is a perfect place. Yes, we need sources telling us the bad and the issues that are going on so we know where we may focus our aid. But it is how you choose to tell, and what you are leaving out, that makes all the difference:

With each act of violence and each tragedy, there are a thousand acts of grace, nobility, kindness and love in response. And elsewhere in the world at that very same time, there are ten million more acts of grace, nobility, kindness and love occurring as well. That is the far more important news people need to know. That kind of news is how we are reminded that good and love prevails. That kind of news is how we are inspired to face the issues and do something positive about them.

But I know what all you producers, editors and the shareholders who control you are thinking. There are no ratings, there are no profits, in good news. It’s not really true that people don’t appreciate good news; I’ve got tens of thousands of subscribers to my free IntenseExperiences.com newsletter, and they sure seem to appreciate good news and healthy insights.

But this message, the news I want to share in this article, isn’t for the producers, editors and shareholders of the bad news anyway.

It is for those who sometimes, or often, consume that bad news. Or really, who sometimes, or often, let the bad news consume them.

The Lasagna??

After watching the evening news yesterday, I just had to take a walk outside. On that walk, I both looked around and I reflected. And I was reminded of the news that, though it almost always goes unreported, is the news that people really need to know.

I watched two different sets of lovers, one set no older than twenty, the other set no younger than sixty, walking hand-in-hand down the street. Talking. Smiling. In love. And I realized that at that given moment there were likely millions of couples worldwide doing exactly the same thing. Wonderful news.

I watched three children playing some invented game involving sticks and rolling on the grass in their backyard. Laughing and screeching in delight. And I realized that at that given moment there were likely millions of children worldwide doing the same thing. Beautiful news.

I listened to a cicada sing. I inhaled the bread baking in a home, and then freshly cut lawn, and then the Italian food wafting from another home. I think it was lasagna, which I love. I touched the deeply grooved bark of a magnificent oak tree who had been standing there, content, long before I was alive. Amazing news.

I watched my feet walk. I wiggled my fingers and saw them move. I felt myself breathe. And I remembered I was fortunate enough to wake up this morning. To be here now. Alive. There is always beauty, from outside my home to inside myself, and it is always there to embrace. I have dreams I can pursue, I have people who care about me, and I am here. Good, good news.

Almost every minute of every hour of every day of my life so far, things have been pretty darned good. They could have been even better if I hadn’t wasted so much energy fearing and lamenting the exceptions to that rule, the challenging times. And I’m sure I would have handled those challenges when they occur far better if I remained aware of how good things typically are. And if I hadn’t watched the evening news.

The Unreported??

Every single day in the world, sixty billion smiles go unreported. Millions of people open the door for other people, and hundreds of millions of other good deeds go unreported.

Millions of flirtatious glances are cast, billions of flowers open up in bloom, millions of children hit the ball or get an A or achieve something remarkable, and millions of people if not more make love. Some even twice.

The sun rises for nearly everyone everyday, and birds chirp, clouds roll, music plays, and there is infinite love, friendship, laughter, and accomplishments to be had. Almost everyone has had a pretty good day today, and that could be even better if they took notice of all that is good and beautiful around them.

Meanwhile, every single day, almost no one is killed. An unbelievably large number of people are not robbed, abused, or cheated on. And every day in Chicago, nearly everyone rides the bus in peace.

No, this is not cause to turn your back on those who do experience tragedy and suffering, or those who perpetrate it. Quite the contrary. It is how to achieve and maintain the proper perspective to deal with those exceptions, to help those experiencing the bad news and prevent it in the future, most effectively.

This perspective is the only difference between Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi versus Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden.??

You??

If you watch the evening news – or experience its equivalent online, in certain prime time TV shows, on certain talk radio shows, in certain people, or elsewhere – try shutting it off.

Take a walk, listen to music, read some poetry, paint a picture, converse with a friend, or get on the floor and play with some children instead. You may be surprised at how much more you learn, and how much better you feel.

And if you must watch the evening news – or experience any of its equivalents – be sure to cleanse yourself before, during, and most definitely afterward with these other healthy experiences.

Because you become what you allow inside of you.

You are the experiences you choose to engage in. That is what my entire intense experiences concept is about. Consume the bad news, don’t dilute it with the reality of the immense beauty of your life and the world and existence itself, and you become depressed, angry and jaded. You become the bad news.

Recognize the good and the beautiful that is all around and inside you, and that far, far, far outweighs the exception -- the bad news. Free yourself to experience this good news. And you become it.

Remember you are reading this. You are breathing. You are alive.

There is an infinite world of grace, wonder, love, help and potential out there for you to do.

That is the news that’s really fit to print.

That is the news that is truly worth sharing.

Published on www.intent.com

Watch the original video of this article here

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Vaszily is the founder and creator of the Intense Experiences program and philosophy. Through simple and enjoyable but powerful and deeply transformative personal experiences, people are rapidly enabled to clear through their negative self-sabotaging emotions and achieve clarity, higher levels of energy, amazing success at whatever they most desire, and deep inner peace and happiness.

Brian is a bestselling and widely published author, speaker and workshop leader. He is the founder of the popular and free www.IntenseExperiences.com newsletter, author of the book The 23 Most Important Secrets to Achieve Deep Happiness (now FREE for just a limited time at http://www.intenseexperiences.com/free-gift.html), author and voice of The 9 Intense Experiences 10-CD audio course (http://the9intenseexperiences.com/?a_aid=0e7865b3 ) and also the author of the award-winning novella Beyond Stone and Steel and co-author, agent and promoter of other books including several New York Times bestsellers.Brian has also been integral to the content and growth of multiple well-known websites, including Mercola.com, Sedona.com and BodyEcology.com.bMore of his story that led to the creation of the Intense Experiences program can be found at http://www.intenseexperiences.com/brian-vaszily.ht... .