“It’s beautiful today. Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful!” I say these words aloud to myself—and anyone who’ll listen—as I walk out the patio door to hang the bird feeders. It’s 6:45 a.m., 48 degrees. Sunlight dapples the ground and fills the sky. A slight breeze flickers through the leaves and tosses them lightly....
The middle of the woods is a wonderful dwelling place for an introvert. You can do things like that ... talk to yourself and nature in a loud—sometimes screaming loud—voice. I’d never utter a word in the middle of a city neighborhood but here, where I’m safe in the quiet with 25 acres to surround me, I talk aloud to myself.
I tend to think that my woodland neighbors—birds, bears, wolves, coyotes, squirrels, et al.—listen to my spontaneous comments with appreciation. Words of praise are a welcome event in a neighborhood that grows smaller, its backyards, front yards, side yards gradually dissipating through development and logging operations. Humans wonder why bear or other wild creatures occasionally attack us. Hmmm. How would you react if your bedroom, dining room, or backyard was being taken over by an uninvited stranger? Would you gladly give up your home thinking that you could easily find another house further down the road?
I’m often surprised by the number of people—both locals and tourists—who fear the bear who inhabit these forests. Last week Frances heard a rustling in the woods across the driveway from where she quietly worked. She paused, glanced toward the noise, saw nothing, and resumed her occupation. Soon she heard more rustling. Another glance revealed bear feet (yes, I said bear feet, not bare feet) dangling from a tree across the way. A small bear bounced up and down, struggling to reach higher branches. It appeared to be eating ... something. We investigated the next day and found the tree, berries hanging high overhead.
This morning Frances went for an early morning walk. When she returned, she offered another bear story. This small bear--probably the same one from several weeks ago--was eating berries from the wild raspberry bushes that line our drive. Not aware of Frances’ approach, the bear heard her cough and was gone....
Like I said, “It’s beautiful here. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.”
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Good News Gazette - News at the Speed of Nice!
Another 40 degree start to the day. It’s dark, overcast, shrouded in quiet. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep….” (“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” by Robert Frost) Okay, it's not snowing but it IS cool for July 1.
An idea slammed me like thunder this AM. How about a home page posting news reports based on hopeful, upbeat, uplifting people and events? Since my internet connection always boots up the Google News page I’m well aware that the latest news items are typically framed in a trauma/drama mode. Of course, the biggest news is always the worst. Right? As my brother, Brett, says, "Good news doesn't make any money."
Still, wouldn’t it be fun to turn that whole assumption and modus operandi upside down and sideways?
I’m reminded of the magazine “Hope.” It went out of business several years ago and I truly felt lost, without hope. It seemed that the general public didn’t want to read positive, inspirational stories about people who invested themselves in changing the world for the better. Or did "Hope" simply not find the larger market that it needed?
The internet is a potent tool to connect with our world society. Sure, there are plenty of people who, for whatever reason, like to read about disaster. From my own experience I'd venture a guess that there is an addictive quality to focusing on other people's pain and agony. I'm often horrified by the news I read at the same time that it captivates me. Why do I keep reading it? To convince myself that my life isn't so bad after all? To engage in a game of one-upmanship where I always come out on top? To fool myself into thinking that "I would never do anything like that...."?
Hopefully the human race has some desire--even if it's a secret one--to be uplifted, encouraged, and challenged to think about our society from a different perspective. Instead of expecting the worst from people what would it be like to expect the best? Instead of launching ourselves into a canyon of sorrows, what if we rolled in a wildflower-filled meadow of blessings?
Certainly a Good News home page could fill a niche. It would, if nothing else, provide a polar opposite to the doom/gloom crowd of news pages readily available. Still, can people focus on positivity for long? Does it get too boring? Too disconnected from the real world? If we can’t handle the hope and inspiration, we can always surf to the old standards: Google News, MSN, Yahoo et al.
My just-completed Google search for upbeat news sites yielded a page and a half of listings. Hooray! See www.google.com/Top/News/Alternative/Good_News/ for positive news to create a more positive world. I include one link from that list here: Good News Gazette - News at the Speed of Nice!
There is hope after all!
An idea slammed me like thunder this AM. How about a home page posting news reports based on hopeful, upbeat, uplifting people and events? Since my internet connection always boots up the Google News page I’m well aware that the latest news items are typically framed in a trauma/drama mode. Of course, the biggest news is always the worst. Right? As my brother, Brett, says, "Good news doesn't make any money."
Still, wouldn’t it be fun to turn that whole assumption and modus operandi upside down and sideways?
I’m reminded of the magazine “Hope.” It went out of business several years ago and I truly felt lost, without hope. It seemed that the general public didn’t want to read positive, inspirational stories about people who invested themselves in changing the world for the better. Or did "Hope" simply not find the larger market that it needed?
The internet is a potent tool to connect with our world society. Sure, there are plenty of people who, for whatever reason, like to read about disaster. From my own experience I'd venture a guess that there is an addictive quality to focusing on other people's pain and agony. I'm often horrified by the news I read at the same time that it captivates me. Why do I keep reading it? To convince myself that my life isn't so bad after all? To engage in a game of one-upmanship where I always come out on top? To fool myself into thinking that "I would never do anything like that...."?
Hopefully the human race has some desire--even if it's a secret one--to be uplifted, encouraged, and challenged to think about our society from a different perspective. Instead of expecting the worst from people what would it be like to expect the best? Instead of launching ourselves into a canyon of sorrows, what if we rolled in a wildflower-filled meadow of blessings?
Certainly a Good News home page could fill a niche. It would, if nothing else, provide a polar opposite to the doom/gloom crowd of news pages readily available. Still, can people focus on positivity for long? Does it get too boring? Too disconnected from the real world? If we can’t handle the hope and inspiration, we can always surf to the old standards: Google News, MSN, Yahoo et al.
My just-completed Google search for upbeat news sites yielded a page and a half of listings. Hooray! See www.google.com/Top/News/Alternative/Good_News/ for positive news to create a more positive world. I include one link from that list here: Good News Gazette - News at the Speed of Nice!
There is hope after all!
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