.....Happiness is everywhere if you look for it!.......

(This article is my submission to the Midwest Times for this week)

Recently, I had a reader from the Granby area; ask me if it was difficult come up with columns for this paper.  The reader noted our efforts of publishing “happier” news articles.  They said it was interesting to them how there were few if any stories about crime, car crashes, and the like here.  Then they really got me going, because they said it was surprising there was enough good news out there to even print.

To this long time friend and reader, I know you will see this.  I promised a published response to your words, since I felt it was important for all of us to really think about what is around us. 

For those of you who have read my column over the last couple of months, you have heard about my travels across the area and my belief we should all look out for one another.   But, here in this week’s column I hope to go a step further and ask you to go one whole week without talking about the “bad news” in the World and right here at home.  My hope and desire is you will be forced to see all the good.

I think it is human nature to be attracted to the “bad” things in life.  We drive down the road coming upon a horrible wreck, is there a person out there who does not glance over at the tangled metal to see what has happened?  As we glance at the crash, why don’t we become proud of the volunteer fireman who dropped their dinner or left their child’s ballgame, in order to race off to the aid of someone in need?

If each of us would “train” our minds to see the good in all situations, I think we would be surprised what is out there.  Just like the illustration of the traffic crash above, there are very few situations where good does not take place.

During my relatively short life, there have been many horrible news stories.  Like the attacks on September 11, 2001.  We all know many people died that day, but we also know heroes came forward and saved many others, both by thwarting the hijackers, over Pennsylvania, and by rushing to donate blood for the injured in Washington and New York.  There were many stories of complete strangers welcoming other strangers into their homes, as workers were stranded in New York.

Another tragic event, which struck much closer to home and greatly impacted my life, was the horrific Church Shooting in Neosho, which took place in August of 2007.  The story was covered locally and internationally.  However, I saw no stories talking about the citizens who came forward shortly after the incident to offer food and other kinds of comfort to the victims.  There were many area Churches who offered their sanctuaries to the affected congregation, so they could meet while their home Church was repaired. 

While there is undoubtedly a lot of evil and bad news in the world, there is much good and mush of it you never hear about.  Don’t rely on the established media outlets to tell you the joys behind the tragedies. 

You see, these media outlets have missed the boat as they seem to believe we would rather read about all the horrible events around us; however, I see The Midwest Times as a small step forward in making the world more enjoyable.  Look around you and see what’s positive.  Your life will be better if you look for the happy events, even when it may appear hard to find, happiness is all around us everyday!