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It’s an all too common fact of life that sometimes bad things happen to people.
I recently read (and reviewed) a book that included this quote:
“The news isn’t all the news… not by a long shot. It’s just what reporters want to tell you about. Riots come and go, wars come and go, but under the tumult, day after day, century after century, millions of people are doing nice things for one another, making sacrifices, mostly small things, but it’s all those little kindnesses that hold civilization together, all those people who live quiet lives and never make the news.”
There was another shooting in America over the weekend. It seems like every day you hear about a shooting or a tragedy of some kind happening somewhere. And it’s not just the national news – sometimes is much closer and much more impactful, like the local news, or your social media news feeds.
It’s easy to get caught up in what we see online and on TV and just assume that that’s the way things are now. And it’s definitely easy for TV and the internet to showcase the negative aspects of life. Because really, news channels these days are essentially the same as A&E or TBS – they’re all just fighting for ratings. And unfortunately tragedies get ratings.
It’s impossible to ignore it – there really are terrible things happening to people around the world, to people in our home towns, even to the people that we care about.
But that’s not all that’s happening. That’s just the stuff that we hear the most about.
“When a tree falls it resounds with a thundering crash; and yet a whole forest grows in silence.” – Jocelyn Murray
Take me and you for example… Well I guess I don’t know about you, but personally, I almost never make the news (ok I was on the news once for a fundraising event, and then another time for a tax office – long story). And here we are living normal lives, reading (and writing) blogs, going to work, having lunch with friends, calling our moms, taking care of kids… holding civilization together.
It’s the good choices we make, the quiet, normal days we have that make the world what it really is – a place where good things can outweigh the bad. Where beautiful relationships live, and happy memories are made with healthy babies. Where people fall in love and stay together, and puppies find good homes.
It's the good choices we make, the quiet, normal days we have that make the world what it really is Click To Tweet
I am in no way advocating that we should ignore the news and bury our heads in the sand. I absolutely believe in fighting for what you believe in, in protesting the things you find intolerable, and in being knowledgeable and aware of your environment.
I’m simply saying that we shouldn’t take in all the negativity of the world without also looking for the positives. We can’t absorb the horrible injustices and forget about the wonderful kindnesses happening. We can learn about and empathize with those who are suffering, but we must also stay positive and remember that the news isn’t all the news.
And we absolutely, without a doubt, have to try to use our quiet lives to continue doing nice things for one another, make small sacrifices and perform little kindnesses to hold civilization together.
The news isn’t all the news... not by a long shot. Click To Tweet
Tell me what you’re doing to create ‘good news’ in the world. And, if you’re feeling down and interested in looking for more positive stories, check out this positive news website I found – goodnewsnetwork.org
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Please share, comment, or consider pinning these quotes on Pinterest.
Very insightful (and incredibly well-written)! Thank you for this take on the news, given all the negativity we are exposed to each day. It’s a great reminder that there are plenty of amazing things happening, too. And I’d love to hear about the tax office incident some time, BTW…
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment!
The tax office story basically boils down to one of the times I tried a normal 8-5 … and the news channel came to talk to the office about tax law and well, no one else would do it. Lol. So I did.
Nice. Gotta love it when you talk about taxation bc you have no other representation. Ok–that sounded cooler in my mind before I wrote it, but I’m just gonna leave it there. You know it’s bad when you feel like you have to explain a bad joke in a blog comment 😉
Lol. No, It’s funny! 😅
Excellent post. Wish the news wouldn’t pick sides and five their opinions. Just report facts that have been verified.
It is a pity that bad news sells faster… we definitely should help others in any way we can when no one is watching…not in the full glare of others
I completely agree! It’s not about doing something nice so that people see you being nice…. it’s just about being genuinely nice.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. 🙂
Thanks for your insights Malissa. It’s a good reminder that we can blame the news the read or better, we can look at ourselves and develop a positive outlook.
Thanks for this wonderful blog post
I wish the news would focus more on happy stories and showe more of the good in people.
I agree. We’ll just have to do our part to bring the positivity 🙂
Thanks, as always for reading 🙂
This is such a great and well- written blog post. I really like the idea that we can bring positivity into the everyday.
Thank you for your kind words! 🙂 I really believe we can do our part to keep the world more positive than negative.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment. 🙂
Rather interesting take and call to action. I think anyone who’s tried to issue a press release knows all too well that the stories that make the list are always divisive and polarizing. Anything that gets clicks on their website. But that could be turned on it’s head by spamming them with good things that are happening. And of course, not “all” of the shootings are reported, or even the worst. Just the stuff to get our blood boiling. I think you are right, at the end of the day we need to take it on ourselves to do something good in the world. Mine is helping writers, and I’ve long since turned off most media, so it filters to me through other people now.
Oh man, sometimes I think about turning off the media outlets I use. Maybe periodic breaks would be good.
And I agree – unfortunately only the ‘blood boiling’ stuff gets put out the most.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. 🙂 I appreciate your take on it.
No problem. Actually, if you haven’t read “Trust Me, I’m Lying,” you might find it interesting. It may reshape how you view the media.
I’ll definitely check that out! Thank you!
Excellent post. Sometimes a softer, quieter world is what we all need, not the ongoing hysteria of the 24/7 news cycle.
Is completely agree. 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment, Dan.
This post is very inspirational! A good reminder that there is good in the world! I do admit I barely watch the news these days as watching too much news about shootings, economic crisis, bombs, etc it kinda depresses me. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful post!
Oh thank you so much for reading and taking the time to comment! 🙂