Good News
Whenever I open my browser home page, I can’t help but notice that all the headlines are bad news. People who have been killed in accidents or murdered; People who are ill or have died; disasters all around the world and so on. Either that or I see posts designed to worry me that I might have some undiagnosed serious illness. If you turn on the news, it’s the same. It’s not really ‘News.’ It’s bad news.
Am I the only one who thinks this is a little bit unbalanced? Surely some good things have happened too. Surely there is plenty of good news we could be thinking about.
Bad news sells, it seems. If I see a post about possible illness, I might rush to buy some vitamins or special health supplements. If I’m in constant stress – worrying about the state of the world, I may want to keep reading and watching every day for updates, supporting their channels.
It has to be harmful for us to be always absorbing gloom and doom.
Last January we had a terrible storm here in Ireland called Storm Eowyn. I am right on the Atlantic Coast and this overnight storm was absolutely terrifying. I heard a bang around 2am as half of one of my chimneys fell off. The wind sounded exactly like an express train was speeding past my window for hours on end. The windspeed locally was recorded at 184 km per hour.
My electricity went off very early. Sitting in the dark, frightened my roof was going to blow off, I felt very helpless, much as I do when reading and watching the News.
I remembered I had a pocket radio and switched this on to try to get some comfort.
The local DJ was amazing. He talked about how we were all in this together, how the storm would pass, how we would all help each other. He even said a prayer and read dozens of text messages from people all in the same boat, enduring this scary storm. I felt comforted and supported. And even though this was a frightening night, I felt like something positive was coming out of it. We were all connected by this amazing DJ and were all rooting for each other.
The media needs more people like that DJ. Leaders who can help us through difficult times instead of worrying us. We need to be made aware of our common bonds as we all travel through this life together. Not to dwell on our differences and difficulties.
The DJ created something on a terrifying night that made us all braver and stronger.
That something is a sense of community.
Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Senior Chatters
One of the main reasons we don’t allow politics or religion on Senior Chatters is because it’s all over the internet and media already (meaning there are plenty of other places for it, so not here) and it can fuel fierce debate as well as negative comments. Here we prefer to keep things cheerful and light hearted as a means of escape from all of that. We are all aware, we all know what’s going on in the world. Senior Chatters is our happy place 🤗
@dj Yes, that is definitely a good thing.
Hi Rain. I love your post. I too struggle with ‘negative news’ Its a hard balance to keep yourself informed, to be aware & respectful of others suffering, without being depressed, frightened and angry. I love your dj and agree we need more positive cheer leaders to flag up the best of humanity and the joy of pulling together. And yes the SC site has many many wise old souls just living their best lives despite it all. I do love the occasional sharing of how tough it can be to rise above it all. 🙏for sharing
@tjay It’s lovely to meet you and thanks for replying. Yes it’s definitely a balancing act between making sure you are aware of what’s happening in the world but not allowing it to beat you down. I’ve only been on Senior Chatters a few days but already I feel a lovely sense of belonging. That’s the best armour we can wear to fend off gloomy times and to remind us to celebrate life.