Article Surfing Archive

There is more good news available all of the time. Check out goodnewsbroadcast.com, happynews.com and goodfinding.com for examples. There is a growing awareness of the toxic effects of negative news, and some good folks are doing something about it. Be prepared, however. Good news won't get your heart pumping, or create a sense of urgency. Be prepared to be peaceful. Be willing to face the risk of relaxation. It will do you a lot of good. You were designed to be relaxed and peaceful. Check the diet of information you consume and how it affects your state of ease. Be an educated, discriminating consumer. Look for healthy, positive, uplifting, encouraging information that will digest well and provide the nutrients of relaxation, faith and optimism that you need.

Express your love and appreciation. Most of the love and appreciation in the world goes unexpressed. While this can be a source of pain, it can also be a basis for optimism and faith in humankind. For every word or act of love and appreciation expressed, consider that ten times more lies behind the walls of self-doubt and fear. Imagine that stored light and love lives inside everyone you meet, and picture this goodness flowing from one person to another, like arcs of appreciation silently connecting us into a web of loving unity. And express your love. It is good for your heart, and it raises the value of your relationships. Recognize the things, people and places you appreciate, write it down and talk about it. Start an appreciation revolution.

Stay awake. To stay awake and vibrantly healthy, start something new. Be creative and do something you've never done before. It will help your brain and body work better, and it will activate your beginner's mind. Write a poem, paint a picture, study a language or learn a new dance. As a beginner, you stand on the threshold of mystery, balanced between fear and excitement, challenge and opportunity. On this edge, this precipice that marks the boundary between the familiar and the unknown, you are alive and stepping forward into the abyss of your undiscovered self. Stretch yourself, and find out who this is inside you, longing to express the beauty and magnificence that is yours alone to offer. The world is waiting.

Practice the art of feeling good. Everybody wants to feel good. The desire to ease pain and create pleasure is the primary motivator of human behavior. So why don't more of us feel good more of the time? One reason is that it is natural to think we have to get the problems solved and the tasks completed before we can relax and have fun. That plan just won't work. There are too many problems, too many tasks. The art of feeling good and being happy must be learned and practiced regularly for its own sake. This is not selfish, it's practical. Taking care of yourself is merely filling your tank for your journey. The better you feel the more energy you will have to do those good works you so long to do. And the world wants you to do your good works.

Look for the nobility of the human spirit. As hard as it may be to find at times, the nobility of the human spirit is always there. Think of the courage of a mother facing childbirth, the grueling challenge students face in preparing for exams, the harsh conditions that soldiers, firemen, policemen, plumbers, teachers and surgeons face in doing their jobs. Remember the courage it took to go back to school when kids made fun of you the day before. Honor the determination and force of will it takes to create successful businesses, great music and works of art. Respect and acknowledge the brave hearts and good souls of human beings all around you trying to do the right thing and make the world a better place for all of us. You are one of these yourself.