How to Keep Positive Amongst All The Shenanigans…
It seems that not a day goes by that some piece of bad news swoops down to take our breath away. If it is not the outrageous AIG bonuses (supposedly to maintain the top talent that has brought the company to its knees), it’s yet another round of layoffs in some corner of the country, or it’s Madoff the Scammer trying to keep some of the millions he stole from his clients, or it’s the wasteful ways of the government, or the unemployment rate plummeting, or the housing prices going through the floor, or the Market tanking, or Geitner this and Paulson that, or the Earmarks on the budget, or Congress did this and the Administration did that, and that’s not even getting into the International rhetoric. I think you get the message, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep upbeat and keep going on this journey we call life.
I came across a quote from Deepak Chopra that caught my eye and put the things that are happening right now in a little better perspective:
” Societies get into the grip of their own self-created story. It’s helpful to realize that we can choose not to participate in that story. Realize that national and tribal stories are limited, self-serving, based on the past, reinforced by orthodoxy, and therefore opposed to real change. Stories are incredibly persuasive. Wars are fueled by victimization that runs deep, for example. So let us not try to change any one’s story. Let us only notice and observe ourselves when we buy into it and then let us back away from participating in it.”
This comes from a quote from Peace is the Way -Ten Steps to Peace Consciousness written by Deepak Chopra. You can read the whole quote HERE.
Let’s face it “Bad News Sells” whether on TV, Radio, Newspapers or the Net. And if it sells, then we are going to be bombarded by it. Now why bad news sells is a whole other topic for another day. But while we are bombarded by it I think Deepak’s words can helps us realize that we are not obligated to participate in the fear mongoring and “can opt out of the Stories”. But more importantly, we can create our own story by keeping positive, making a plan for ourselves and looking forward. We can choose not to participate in the negative stories. If nothing else for our own sanity and the sanity of the country.
