Leanna's Winding Path

2 January 2011 – My new thing – Don’t poison the world with rotten soup!

So here is the thing about rotten soup.  It smells bad.  It tastes bad.  You look at it with spite.  You hate its existence.  You could die from it.  You just want to get rid of it and never ever see it again.

You know me – always seeking my path to wellness – not just my own wellness hopefully, but the wellness of my family, friends, and community.  Since I was little, I’ve always wanted to make the world a better place.  Now, I feel like I’ve found a way to contribute to the wellness of the world.  There are many paths for this, but right now, I’m just going to talk about one.

As one of those types of people who believes that what you put out there is what you get back, that we’re all connected, and that we have the power to influence the world with the focus of our intensions, I have come to one very important instruction for my life:

Avoid the News.

Many (even of you, my friends) will probably think that I’m an unwise, naïve, and an uninformed person choosing this route and encouraging others to take it.  But I have good sound reasons, and I would ask you to consider them.

Because the news is almost always bad (there are exceptions, which I completely embrace), it makes me feel bad to listen to it.  Sometimes it makes me feel afraid.  Sometimes sad.  Sometimes hopeless.  Powerless.  Small.  Weak.  Unsure.  Uneasy.  Helpless.   Numb.  Bitter.  Angry.  Hatred.  Like choosing to bring a child into this world is a very stupid decision.  At a loss to do anything to make the world better.

Okay.  More could be written here, but you get the gist.  It’s rarely a good feeling.

All that negativity feels like it builds up inside.  Like even though, I would like to think of myself as a peaceful loving person, I have to fight against the awful negative realities of the world spun in whatever direction the producer of the news wants to flip it to me (which is often more awful and negative than the truth). 

This internal fight is wasteful of my time and my energy.  And when I’m feeling and thinking all of these negative emotions and thoughts, I’m projecting that reality into the world, letting all of that negativity just flow through me.

So I say I’m not going to participate in that way of feeding the world.  No longer will I subject myself or the world to the negative emotions that come from me getting wrapped up in news of things I have no conceivable way of improving.  I’m also avoiding media that promotes fear, violence, and depravity for the same reasons, but the news is much more powerful, because we perceive it as real.

I am avoiding the poison.

On the flip side, I must contribute to the good in the world.  I do not resolve myself just to be an inactive player in the good or the bad of the world until eventual death.  I will be informed -  just not through the crazy negative news – and act on intuition, knowledge, and the wisdom of those I trust.

As much as I can, my thoughts and actions will remain positive so that what flows from me into the world can nourish the ills of me and of my community (both local and global).

I know it sounds scary, but think about joining me.

Happy New Year!

ps.  I welcome your ideas for how to stay informed without relying on the news to get you there.