GOOD NEWS OVERRIDES THE BAD

By Joan Clayton

Do you ever become tired of hearing bad news? It seems we are bombarded at every turn. Bad news dominates, even  with so much good in the world. In every situation there is something good, something to be thankful for,  something that warms the heart and keeps us going in spite of problems. Finding it, being thankful for it and savoring it holds the bad news at bay!

While traveling recently, we decided to drive the two hours home rather than spend the night in a motel. We stopped to get a snack, discovered a tire going down. “No one will fix a flat this time of night, but I have two cans of sealant, you can try that,” the clerk said. The good news is one can got us halfway home and the other can brought us safely the rest of the way.

A man in my art class lost consciousness and collapsed. The good news is the EMT team arrived in minutes, stabilized the patient and took him to the hospital. Their heroic efforts saved his life. I salute those dedicated trained people. They are “good news” every day.

The sticker weeds covered my husband’s pasture last summer. The good news is the rabbits ate all the blooms off. Now there are no stickers. There are a lot of cacti in his pasture. Bad news? No! Cactus provides cover and protection for quail and other wildlife.

We had a huge apricot tree in our yard. Our boys climbed that tree and ate its apricots for many years. This past summer the bores did that big old tree in. It saddened me to have it cut down, but I discovered something good. My flower bed began to flourish in all of that sunshine the tree had blocked and its roots quit cracking our driveway.

We somehow lose sight of the good around us. When we are going through a trial, the good news is about the beautiful people who surround us with their comfort, love and kindness. It would be so hard to bear a loss alone. Filling our minds with good news leaves little room for the bad because good always overrides the bad!

Source: Happiness magazine, Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2002