Working at a food bank, you would think that the stories I hear are all of want and deprivation. Not so. Since the economic downturn, the need at food banks is greater than ever before. But the response of the community, when called upon for assistance, has been overwhelming.
Our local CBS affiliate did a 12 day food drive for the food bank. Two sponsors stepped up and offered their businesses as drop points for donations and paid for commercials that spoke to the need in our community. The on-air anchors offered their time and talents. The behind the scene staff worked tirelessly to put together a catchy campaign and paid attention to every detail.
On a chilly Friday in February, we culminated the drive with an on-air, outdoor marathon that lasted 14 hours. Late in the afternoon of the telecast, an elderly man drove up to donate two cans of food. He had been watching the coverage all day. He wanted to give something. I could tell from his car and his clothes that he didn’t have much. His hands shook with age as he handed me the plastic bag with his donation. He smiled and drove away. I was moved to tears at his generosity. It is always thus at a food drive. People really are kind.
In case you were wondering ......
I don’t know about you, but for months now, every time I turn on the television, or read the news online, it’s more of the same. People losing jobs, losing their homes, rising unemployment rates, dwindling savings accounts, suicide, death, divorce, addiction, homelessness and more and more and more and more. Oh, and more.
I have always helped others for a living and am a compassionate person. I have also always believed in the power of positive thinking. You would think that I, of all people, would be able to avoid being a victim! But, this year, when I experienced changes that would lead to months of unemployment with no hope in sight, right smack dab in the middle of the worst jobless rate in my adult lifetime, I became a slave to gloom and doom.
I sat in my apartment at the computer, day after day, scouring the news for some stories of hope, some glimmer of possibility that things were looking up, only to be brought deeper into the black hole of the medias love affair with our "hard times in America". Please understand that I was already ripe from years of war and the shock and awe tactics of the previous administration, so it didn’t take much to push me over the edge.
One day while crying for the hundredth time while watching yet another story of the effects of a company closing…. it occurred to me that I was sick and tired of buying the crap that the media was feeding me. I decided in that moment that from now on, I was only going to read good news.
I do understand that people are hurting and need to tell their stories. It’s healing. As a community of caring people, we generally want to listen. But with so much bad news, our compassion has gotten the best of us. I believe that we need to shift the focus of our attention to what’s good and get a healthy perspective back!
That day, I vowed to start looking for the beautiful things in every situation and shifted my thinking toward gratitude. As you can imagine, I soon found that when I looked for the "good things", I found plenty of them. That’s the reason for this blog. I want to create an antidote to the slow poisoning of our spirits happening as we breathe in the daily media offerings fueled by the crisis we are facing in our country. I want to do it by telling our good stories. We need them now, more than ever.
I have always helped others for a living and am a compassionate person. I have also always believed in the power of positive thinking. You would think that I, of all people, would be able to avoid being a victim! But, this year, when I experienced changes that would lead to months of unemployment with no hope in sight, right smack dab in the middle of the worst jobless rate in my adult lifetime, I became a slave to gloom and doom.
I sat in my apartment at the computer, day after day, scouring the news for some stories of hope, some glimmer of possibility that things were looking up, only to be brought deeper into the black hole of the medias love affair with our "hard times in America". Please understand that I was already ripe from years of war and the shock and awe tactics of the previous administration, so it didn’t take much to push me over the edge.
One day while crying for the hundredth time while watching yet another story of the effects of a company closing…. it occurred to me that I was sick and tired of buying the crap that the media was feeding me. I decided in that moment that from now on, I was only going to read good news.
I do understand that people are hurting and need to tell their stories. It’s healing. As a community of caring people, we generally want to listen. But with so much bad news, our compassion has gotten the best of us. I believe that we need to shift the focus of our attention to what’s good and get a healthy perspective back!
That day, I vowed to start looking for the beautiful things in every situation and shifted my thinking toward gratitude. As you can imagine, I soon found that when I looked for the "good things", I found plenty of them. That’s the reason for this blog. I want to create an antidote to the slow poisoning of our spirits happening as we breathe in the daily media offerings fueled by the crisis we are facing in our country. I want to do it by telling our good stories. We need them now, more than ever.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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