A little good news
I’m not sure how the song came to be stuck in my head. I hadn’t been listening to oldies; hadn’t thought of the song in decades. But there, between my ears, was Anne Murray, belting out her ’83 hit on seemingly endless repeat.
“Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town. Nobody OD’ed, nobody burned a single building down. Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain. We sure could use a little good news today.”
I was probably just going through my day when someone innocently said, “I sure could use a little good news” and that was all it took for my brain to assign a soundtrack and lock it on looping.
Truth is, it’s a pretty apt soundtrack to have assigned. I’m someone who rather actively dodges bad news. There was a time I regularly read most every page of the paper, watched local and national news every night, and filled in the gaps with radio coverage. Not so much anymore.
I’m not sure what it was that broke me, caused me to shove my head deep in the sand, but there my head has mostly remained.
These days, I watch almost nothing but streaming TV — with my thumb on the fast-forward button. I have trouble letting go of certain images, especially those involving children or animals being harmed. It isn’t that I’m some delicate flower; I don’t pretend ugliness doesn’t exist. I just know myself well enough to know there’s a cost for letting in stories and images that won’t easily leave.
The past year has been especially tough, with the triply-whammy of COVID-19, racial unrest and elections. Last spring, actor John Krasinski (Jim Halpert on “The Office”) started a show called “Some Good News.” Filmed in Krasinski’s home, the show was dedicated entirely to uplifting stories and featured segments like the cast of “Hamilton” singing for a girl who had tickets to a canceled show, and graduating high school seniors getting to talk with some of their heroes, including Oprah and Steven Spielberg.
It was just the kind of happy distraction people were craving, and his show quickly reached 2.6 million YouTube subscribers. (I’ll fast-forward past the part where Krasinski sold the show to Viacom and stepped away as its host.)
Mental health statistics estimate the average person entertains between 10,000 and 60,000 thoughts every day, with a large percentage of those thoughts being negative. We’re bombarded by information heavy on negativity and often surrounded by people who criticize, blame and complain all day long. We swim against such a constant stream of negativity that a person can feel foolish for trying to think upbeat thoughts considering all that’s going on.
Not long ago, I was telling a fellow animal-loving friend about these two women I know who take in elderly dogs that have been surrendered to the shelter. They create bucket lists for the dogs and fill their waning days with swimming and convertible rides and Cool Whip straight from the can.
“But you’re missing the real story,” she said. “It should be about the (expletives) who dump their dogs at the shelter once their fun years are past.”
Sad truth of it is — we all know such people exist. There’s focus enough on their sort. I’d rather aim the lens the other direction, at those deserving some praise.
I believe thinking negatively will simply draw more negativity. If that’s what you plant and fertilize, then that’s what you’ll grow.
And while I can’t speak for you, I know I sure could use a little good news today.
