See the Good, Be the Good
These are my thoughts on how to counter daily life stress off all kinds, but especially that caused by local/global media (in all formats) and social media.
I was inspired to write this last year after returning home from vacationing in Mexico. I returned home to flags at half mass and immediately started to research what world event occurred or who was being honored. I was very sad to discover that the world event happened in Dallas (I live just outside the city) and that during a protest Dallas Police Officers were targeted, which resulted in the death of 5 officers. To be honest I do not watch or read the news, not on TV, not on the internet. When I do I find myself overwhelmed by the tragedies in the world and a sense of hopelessness begins to sink in. I am not one to ignore or dismiss what is happening locally and abroad. I simply know how it will affect me emotionally, mentally and physically. In fact, it creates so much stress internally it is as if my empathy sense is off the chart and I cannot separate myself from the event itself. I have learned over the years if the news is important enough I will hear about it. In the meantime, I do my best to limit social media, almost never seek out the news, no longer watch war movies, movies regarding human trafficking or children in harms way. This includes documentaries as well.
Please, do not misunderstand. It is not because I do not care. It is because I care A LOT! My deep seated nature is to care. To take care, to nurture, the facilitate healing, to help, to better, to educate and most of all to love others. When I learn of various tragedies: loss of life, abuse, war, famine, disease, neglect and the like, my heart breaks. Over and over again my heart breaks. I become anxious about the world we live in and a sense of hopelessness that it will never get any better settles into my gut. I feel stressed and at a loss, helpless. It is a terrible way to feel and yet I must cope, we must cope, somehow. I am not going to tell you that I have chosen all the healthiest coping mechanisms. Sometimes it is a margarita, or two. I want to say I journal every night before bed, not so, but on occasion. I want to tell you I meditate every day, same time, for 20 minutes or more, but I can’t, because I don’t. I do meditate and pray regularly, however there is no set schedule or time limit. I want to say that social media and Facebook especially no longer tempt me and I cancelled my account. Again, not so. I, like most everyone, struggle to cope in all the best ways (diet, exercise, and examples given). I do not give up, I do keep trying and slowly I change. Life as I live it and see it changes, SLOWLY! I am not the most patient of people, so yet again it is a challenge.
I am incredibly grateful for the mediation that inspired the title of this article. “See the good, Be the good” came to me during a difficult time in my life that summer of 2016. It was during a short meditation that those words came to me very clear. Much like Gandhi’s famous words, “Be the good you want to see in the world”, this inspired me to keep a positive outlook. From this affirmation I am reminded to focus on what is good and the more I do, the more good I actually see and hear about. These few words have changed my life for the better. There are days where it seems impossible. It is not easy for someone like me. Most worthy changes and mental shifts are not easy. What I know to be true for myself is that I have changed in a deep, soulful way and I continue to do so because this takes daily practice. With enough practice our brain begins to build new neural pathways and this can become an automatic way of thinking. I must emphasize again this takes time, months, even years, so please be patient and kind with yourself as you make positive changes in your life.
I will leave you with this, the world is no utopia and that is no surprise, but there is so much beauty in all of creation! Consider giving your time to something you love. Acts of service will fill your heart with joy and you will be surrounded by other like minded individuals that help you see, THERE IS GOOD IN THIS IMPERFECT WORLD WE LIVE IN.
“SEE THE GOOD, BE THE GOOD”
Kindly, with love……
Cortney
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While I was reading your thoughts on your journey to coping with stress through meditation, I noticed something in common with you. Despite my huge interests in learning about the contemporary, political issues occurring constantly, I yet refuse myself to keep up to updated news mainly because of all the hatred, conflicts, wars, and pessimism shown almost every day without any given time to stop. Those news really provoke me emotionally that I sometimes have trouble paying attention throughout the day. And one of the reasons why I chose yoga this semester is to not only appreciate the beauty of it but also cope with any forms of anxiety and stress held in my mental state. Yoga truly does trigger my parasympathetic nervous system to keep both physical and mental state in a well being.
This post really spoke to me. Things have been slowly digressing and it seems almost everyday there is something tragic for the news to report upon. As overwhelming as it can be, I too at times try to just think of the good and not let the negative overwhelm me. When thinking of ways to spark change, it always starts with the self! This post reminded me of that. We can preach about how society need peace and unity but nothing will change until we start evaluating ourselfs and starting changing what we need to work on. Kindness can be a chain reaction and if everyone works harder to practice peace and kindness then hopefully one day the world will be a kinder place to live in. See the good and be the good is a perfect everyday quote to remind us to start with ourselves and work to be the best we can be be.
Lead and be an example. Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
I understand the reasons that you stop watching news. It also makes me feel helplessness when bad, and tragic things happen around the world. And, that is most of the news all about. I also like the phrase “see the good, be the good”. When I see people around me helping me or other people, it inspires me to do the same thing.
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This article touched me. I can relate very much to it because the news hurts me. To read of tragedies fills my heart with sorrow because I feel with all those who are affected and it’s a comforting feeling that there are other empaths out there like me. I take solace in knowing I am not the only one who struggles in this way and that there is help for it, even if it takes a long time.
In today’s society it seems as if there are more and more tragedies on a daily basis. The world we live in is a dark place and sometimes it can be hard to find the good. As I get older I see really how dark the world is and that is only a glimpse. We need to come together as a society and promote peace and unity and not only focus on discriminating and fighting. We need to be leaders and shine a light for people to follow.
This post truly spoke to me. Over the course of 2016 I found myself engrossed in the happenings of the world. My heart would ache every single day for the people who suffered. I found myself obsessing over the news. I was always on social media or my phone just trying to see what was going on. I felt defenseless to it all. Much like you, I realized that I could not let these tragedies consume me. There is nothing I could’ve done to prevent them from happening, so now I try and limit my time. In a way to shield my heart from it all, but also to maintain my sanity over event I cannot control.
After reading your article, one thing I have agreed with you that there are a lot of negative things on television and it will make you feel sad. I don’t like television as you do, but I still keep watching it because it makes me know what is happening on the world. You are right that the world is imperfect and the way people see and react to it are very different. I understand that you care, and you feel hurt when you see bad new, war, and disaster, so that you want to limit the new. To me, I watch the new so that I can see and know I am luckier than a lot of people, so that I should not give up when I have to face with many difficulties in life. I can see and know I should share my luckiness to the one who are less lucky than me. I am not rich, but if I save a little bit and others people save a little bit, then we have a huge thing to give the ones really need help. I dont want just see, talk, and do nothing. I watch a lot of channels even though the ones have the ideas completely opposite to mine so that I can learn more what people things from different sides and give me a life lesson. Don’t just ask for help if you dont help you first, no one can give their life to help you. I learnt from your thoughts that be the good. I am trying to be the good one also not because of anyone, but because I am given the good things from the good ones, so that I want to share those good things with the people need those things. To be the good one, we have a good health so that we can think more positive not negative. Diet and exercise are two necessary things to help that. My mother take yoga more than 20 years. I have a lot of years to go. To me, if you are keeping yourself positive, you can face to any difficult, but if you failed, you need a backup plan.
I’m also a fan of meditation in times of great stress. I usually practice it in the form of Thai Buddhism. It helps me clear my mind and the offerings of fruit are nice to leave for animals, and the water offerings are nice to use for plants around the house or garden.
I too seem to struggle with the news as it pertains to mostly upsetting or unsettling truths of the cruel world. I quite enjoyed your take on how you continuously have to keep bringing yourself back to a happier mental state through this slight meditation and refocusing of your thoughts on the positive. I have struggled much in my life with the mental portion of hard times and this article has given me a slight change to my perspective on how to go about some of those struggles.
thank you
The officer shooting was very tragic indeed. It madd my heart swell with sadness. I try to cope with the tragedies by looking at memes. “See the good, be the good” is such a great saying to live by. I have some aquaintances who are negative Nancy’s and all they do is see the glass as half empty in life. It os very depressing to spend time with them but by trying to see what good can come from the way I percieve the world and what I do daily it brings a bright spot into my life and allows me to say “it aint so bad.”