Positive News

This morning I turned the radio on as usual to listen to the news.  It occurred to me that if I were a visitor from another planet listening to this news (assuming I'd been allowed to land on Planet Earth in the first place without a visa of some sort) I would probably catch the next spaceship home. I wouldn't want to stay on a planet where everything sounded so negative and sad. I am acutely aware that the world is in crisis (and I'm not just talking about the results of the referendum) but what about the positive news? Is there any? If so, why is it not being reported too?

Half an hour later and still no good news, so I turned the radio back off again and decided to make a list of my own 'news' instead.

Thursday 30th June 2016:

Life is challenging, I'm exhausted, money is tight, sad and troubling things are going on in the world and I haven't seen any leafcutter bees yet this year. The lack of leafcutters concerns me because tomorrow is the first day of July and they are usually well into their nesting season by now.

BUT..... the sun came out today(!), the Cottoneaster beneath my bedroom window is alive with the buzz of bumblebees, I can hear Sue (one of my neighbours) laughing out loud in the street outside, children are chattering away with their parents as they walk past on their way to school and the rambling roses on the cottage opposite are blooming. There is half a 'rhubarb, ginger and polenta' cake sitting on a green and white spotty plate in the kitchen, and lots of yummy leftover salads from last night in the fridge. The slugs haven't found the sunflowers or cosmos we planted in the big commercial olive tins outside our front door. We have a front door..... and a roof over our heads! I don't need to water anything because it has been raining so much recently. It's Thursday, so I can stock up with fresh local produce from the weekly market in Shaftesbury. The fact that I can chose to buy fresh local produce from the market puts the 'money is tight' thing in perspective and the walk up there will wake me up and make me feel less exhausted. Also, we have an allotment and because we remembered to net the beans in time this year (birds got them last year) we now have a crop of delicious broad beans to harvest and eat. I love and I am loved. Shaftesbury Town Council have stopped using Glyphosate in our parks and open spaces and lots of people are starting to plant bee friendly flowers in their gardens. I finally caught a glimpse of the tawny owl who has been calling every night for the last two and a half years from the trees behind our house, as he glided silently past our roof light a couple of evenings ago. It was magic. I am alive. I have friends to talk to. I can talk. And as if all that isn't enough, I  have three beautiful grandchildren who I love to the moon and back.....

I don't like all the negative news. It affects me as much as the next person and my heart breaks for those who are less fortunate than myself.  But I don't think it is healthy when the bad news completely drowns out the good, positive things that are still happening in most of our lives. No matter how small and seemingly insignificant they are.... I wish the people who produce the radio and TV news would end their broadcasting with a few more positive news items. Of course this wouldn't cancel out, negate or belittle all the bad things that are happening, but it would at least give people the motivation to want to get up in the morning.

Thank goodness for Positive News Magazine!

Sending love, strength and healing to all who need it x

P.S. The beautiful uplifting sunflower pic was taken by Olga Lipatova (thank you Chris for this information)