40 Days of Good News: Epilogue

Photo by Tricia Griffith

I spent the last few weeks trying to adjust my focus a bit. The constant barrage of violence, suffering, and hateful politics had kind of reached a point for me where my already elevated stress levels were reaching overload. I needed some good news, and maybe a lot of it.

The arrival of the Christian season of Lent was my inspiration for 40 Days of Good News. Instead of giving up chocolate (inconceivable!!) or something like that for 40 days, I just wanted to dial back how much I looked at the news and went on an angry tirade or felt horror or despair. I wanted to know – despite the media barrage of bad news – good things were still happening in the world.

Good things are still happening in the world, though it might be kind of hard to tell. While it wasn’t impossible, I found it depressingly difficult to find the kind of good news I was looking for. I wanted to go beyond the light, cheery news of dogs getting reunited with their humans and cats having cool jobs. Yes, I did find one cat with a cool job. I also shared a fair amount of news about animals and nature because those are things that make me happy.

What was I looking for in terms of good news? I was looking for stories of people making a positive differences to each other and our planet. I was looking for signs that Earth isn’t hurtling towards mass destruction. I was searching for people who care about something. I wanted to get past racism, hatred, violence and pain. In addition, I added in a few things that maybe help readers find a little bit of hope and peace of their own, whether it’s good news around chocolate, meditation, or massage.

The ugly didn’t stop during these 40 days, of course. I didn’t stop watching the news or reading things that made me angry. Trying to live a positive life doesn’t mean that it’s always going to be wine and roses. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there living hateful, angry lives that are bound to bump into yours on a regular basis. All we can do is look for the positive in a situation or look somewhere else, and do what we can to spread hope, peace, change, and maybe a little education along the way.

May you continue to find even just a little good news each day …

Love & Light ~ Tricia

 

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Good News Day 38: Tesco to Give All Unsold Food to Charity in its 800 UK Supermarkets

The third largest retailer in the world has taken a revolutionary step towards ending hunger in Europe.

Source: Tesco to Give All Unsold Food to Charity in its 800 UK Supermarkets

Good News Day 36: 10-year-old girl creates ‘chemo kits’ for kids with cancer to honor late aunt

Madeline Domian remembers how sick her Aunt Kathi looked when she would visit her in the hospital.

“I didn’t think anyone would ever want to be that sick, especially kids, because all they want to do is play and have fun,” Madeline, 10, told TODAY.com.

After her aunt — Kathi Reinhold, aka “Katiedo” — passed away on Sept. 1 from gastric cancer at 65 years old, Madeline came up with the idea to create chemotherapy kits for kids fighting cancer.

Read more here: http://www.today.com/health/10-year-old-girl-creates-chemo-kits-kids-cancer-honor

Good News Day 35: Soup Kitchen Is Set Up Like A Restaurant So Homeless Can Dine With Dignity

One organization has souped up the traditional soup kitchen.

Kansas City Community Kitchen in Kansas City, Missouri, serves food restaurant-style to homeless people, a process which includes greeters, waiters and a side of respect.

Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kansas-city-community-kitchen-restaurant-style-soup-homeless

Good News Day 14: How One Middle School Cut Discipline Referrals By 98 Percent in Just One Year

Redland revitalized the overall school climate by responding to the unique needs of middle schoolers.

Source: How One Middle School Cut Discipline Referrals By 98 Percent in Just One Year

Good News Day 11: The Power of Touch

 

Setting aside judgement and fear to help someone in need. ~Tricia

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Source: Ehab Taha

A woman’s kind-hearted gesture made a world of a difference to a man who was “being aggressive” on a train.

 

 

Source: Photo captures elderly woman’s kind gesture to aggressive man on train

Good News Day 10: 8 Photos That Inspired Action

We’re one-quarter of the way through 40 Days of Good News! It’s not hard to find heartwarming posts, pictures, short news clips, but I do find it a little bit of a challenge to find something with a little more content, a little more “meat on its bones” that inspires and gives hope.I hope you’re finding hope and inspiration in these posts as much as I am!

Here is another one that shows the positive power of art. ~Tricia

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National Geographic Photo Blog

Source: 8 Photos That Inspired Action

Good News Day 2: A Kentucky Domestic Violence Shelter Helps Women Grow Food—and Confidence

I can attest to the healing power of nature. Sometimes just a simple walk outside can make a huge difference in my mood and outlook on life. I also have a close friend who has experienced positive mental and physical health benefits from cultivating her own little farm. This article is wonderful news! ~Tricia

 

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Many survivors of domestic violence have had their attempts at work and creativity sabotaged for years. On these 40 acres of rolling farmland, they’re being restored.

A version of this article originally appeared at edgeofchangeroadtrip.org.

As mist hovers over the rolling fields of Kentucky and the sun is still low in the sky, the women of Greenhouse 17 emerge from the house they share, clippers in hand. They spread out over a field and cut bouquets of fresh flowers.

The small farm and business on a 40-acre site outside Lexington, Kentucky, provides the women with both shelter and employment, giving them a chance to gain skills, confidence, and a renewed sense of self-worth…

Read the rest of this article at YesMagazine.org

Vernal Equinox: Time to Grow Something New

“If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.” ~ John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

I like to think that many of us spend the winter like some of our mammal counterparts, hibernating in our snug homes awaiting spring. It’s been a particularly harsh winter in much of the US this year. Our versions of “hibernating” probably included a lot of time shoveling snow or just trying to make it to work.

However you hibernated, there’s a good chance that you’ve been putting off something that’s important to you, or something new that you’ve been meaning to do. It can be far too easy to stay in that hibernatey rut and keep up the routine of kind of slogging through our days that we fell into over the winter.

If the sun isn’t shining where you are, find hope in the fact that that it’s still up there, (and maybe even eclipsing, depending on where you are!), and the the days of darkness are behind us for a while. This is a great time to stop and reassess where you are and where you want to go. Are you still traveling on the same old familiar road, wondering why it never takes you anywhere new?

Shake off the snow and cold today, or whatever form your winter blahs take,  and make today the day you revisit your goals, start yourself on a new path, or get to work on that spring project you’ve been hibernating on all winter!

Look in Your Mirror

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.  ~Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, c.1420

One of the things that always makes me laugh/cry/shake my head/shake my fist/make plans to leave the planet is people who angrily, and all too often violently, berate, belittle, and judge others for their life decisions when they CLEARLY have not got their own shit together.  Forget just the simple idea of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. How about checking what’s stuck on the bottom of your own?

Angry fist shaking aside, you even need to be cruel or self-righteous to find yourself making judgments on how people live their lives. Even the most kind hearted of us are prone to occasionally making uniformed judgments of people, or trying hard to change someone we are certain needs our help.

If there is something about someone in your life you are desperately trying to change, stop and ask yourself if perhaps they are where they are because that is simply where their path has led them at this point in their life. Then, take a moment and ask yourself if something about that person’s situation resonates with you because of something you need to change about yourself.

We find it significantly easier to poke and prod at someone else, and sigh because they aren’t making the changes you expect them to make, than to poke and sigh at ourselves for not making the changes we’d like to make. The problem with that is, the result is usually a worn out and disillusioned you.

So, if you’re feeling irritated with the people around you, or trying to make them behave differently, take some time to ask yourself if what is bothering you is really how it reflects something about yourself that you need to work on. It doesn’t have to be an exact mirror, but maybe something similar, a certain impatience, anger or intolerance in some situations that you see reflected back at you.

To quote Michael Jackson:

I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror,
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make The Change