Good News

 



What is the best news you’ve heard today? Someone asked me this question a few days ago. “What is the best news you’ve heard today?” It really caught me off guard, and I’m pretty hard to catch off guard. What an excellent question to ask another person. It immediately shifts our focus from all the demands that take up space in our minds to the topics that bring us joy and peace.

Good news. Bad news. News. By nature, news is the recollection of the current events happening around us. If you’re a person who regularly consumes media via the internet or your television, you’re probably exposed to lots of news stories every day. Stories about what’s happening in our communities, our nations, stories about winners and achievements, stories about the economy and international relations, and on and on. There are stories available to us almost every moment of every day.
Friends, be mindful of the media you consume and the stories you absorb on a daily basis. The stories we tell ourselves have so much power over our moods and perceptions. Are you funneling good news into your mind? Are you soaking up hours of conflict and anger and disaster and tragedy every day?  

If I were to ask you to share some good news with me, what would come to your mind? Something you heard a reporter say, perhaps. Something you read on a blog, maybe. A text from a family member, inviting you to join in on some gathering. It’s easy to get sucked in to all the bad news around. Make sure you spend some time and attention on the good news, too!

I’ll share my best news of the day with you- I was visiting my parents’ home in North Carolina to celebrate the birthdays of my brother’s two kids. On a trip to the store to buy some gift wrap for the kids’ presents, I ran into an old family friend of ours. We hadn’t seen each other in about 10 years, and I didn’t even recognize him at first! We spent just a few moments catching up and he gave me some updates on his life. Things are going well for him, after a season many years ago of things going very not well for him. It was truly a delight, to get an unexpected visit with my old friend.

My friend is healthy and happy. Best news I’ve heard today.

Rae Holliday, LMFT

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