And Now For Some Good News

/ robertcday

I’ve just read a post called (July 24/17) “A Spontaneous Explanation/Thank You” 🙂 written by a dear friend, Truly. And it really struck a chord with me.

Before I tell you why, here’s a bit of background:

  • When I was a kid I used to listen to BBC Radio One (pop music (do you remember the jingle ‘two forty-seven Radio One – fun for the weekend’?)).
  • When I got older I listened to BBC Radio Two (pop from previous decades).
  • When I joined a weird sex cult I shrugged off contemporary music and listened to BBC Radio Three (classical).
  • When I came back to my senses I listened to BBC Radio Four (in depth news reports).
  • Now that I’ve reached a certain age I’ve reverted back to BBC Radio One (and yes – the little red sports car is on-order) and am blogging here on WordPress.

The point of going through all of that is to tell you that I wholeheartedly agree with Truly when she talks about the state of news reporting today.

When I used to listen to BBC Radio Four it was bad news and then more bad news, but on BBC Radio One, they concentrate on the light-hearted stuff (celebrity gossip and sport). Some would disagree, but I think that this is a positive change for me.

But it’s the things that Truly said about WordPress, and the positivity within this community, that really resonates with me. I love the feeling I get from interacting with the talented and beautiful bloggers here (yes – that means you). However I never considered the WordPress community to be a news system – but it totally is!

WordPress is the best place to get a picture of the positive things that are happening in people’s lives. The things shared here are no less important than the ‘headlines’ on the BBC. But the difference is – the events we read here are more life affirming that the things we hear about in mainstream news channels.

If there was ever a fool-proof prescription for feeling good, it would be getting involved in the WordPress community – giving your good news to the world and getting back the good news of other community members.

And where better to start than the richly layered (and pun-filled) blog that Truly lovingly puts together. Her heart is overflowing with love – long may it continue!

41 thoughts on “And Now For Some Good News”

  1. Oh, Robert….thank you for sharing your heart…thank you for sharing context for your gratitude…if not for your feedback when I first started blogging, I wouldn’t have made a practice of including a CONTEXT section at the start of my usual type posts (the ones riddled with pun and abstractions). You changed the way I communicate and it has changed everything…so, thank you for that, too.
    And (this might make things a little Aaaakward!), you’re kindness is so moving that it has me ‘ugly crying’ right this moment…which is making me laugh inside…this admission sounds like hysteria but feels like love. Thank you for being such a great friend…the admiration and affection is mutual….you’ve honored my in ways I will never forget.
    Your friend, always…
    Truly

    Liked by 6 people

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  4. Now that is a post that I have discussed at length many times in comments on various blogs, including the dear Truly. New and media sticking or hunting down bad news (as in disasters, how things are run down and cripple, giving air time so opposition parties can just slag off the current government – a cyclic thing whoever seems to be in power). I never seem to see balance though; out there are some amazing stories that are positive and would help paint a much better picture to offset the end of the world as we know it (OK Radiohead fan). I first took notice after the Japanese Tsunami. Media hounds sat waiting for some sort of apocalypse to happen, when it didn’t they moved off to something else and totally left the humanitarian efforts by extremely brave people to lock down the reactors. Total acts of bravery, as with all disasters; there are people doing their best to help and support. Grenfell Tower another example. Flipping disaster yes and so sad, but all those officers having to go through the building painstakingly now and before risking their lives to try and save people and off goes the media on a witch hunt (rightly so as this should not have happened, but where was the balance other than a stock PR machines issuing statements to the politicos saying hoe devastated they are and thanks to our brave emergency services. Agreed they are, but a tad more compassion maybe? and certainly a lot more given to the selfless work the people they mention did; then two day later tell us how underfunded and miserable they all are! Heck, I’m on a soap box now!!! My point is balance. Yes report the humanitarian disasters, but also some of the people doing their hardest out of sheer dedication and kindness to make it better.

    Blogging on the other hand is where its at, as you so rightly say. A global community, all creeds and religions. Do we care? not a jot because we all get on and despite a very strange global and seemingly separatist political climate…errr we GET ON. Bloggers are cool and they say it like it is. Balance and caring, support and help. Politicians don’t blog because they couldn’t handle us 🙂

    So sorry for the rant, but class post and dropped over from Truly’s re-blog 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

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    • Class comment, Gary – I appreciate you dropping over and putting so much time into this. However …
      Here’s what I need you to do. Copy and paste this comment into Word or a new WordPress post (or some other program that will give you a word count. Make a note of the total word count, then delete all your references to bad news. Make a note of the new word count. Deduct the new word count from the total word count and note it down. You’ll notice that I’m being easy on you here by classing everything is not bad news as good news, but anyway, you will find that the last figure you wrote (bad news) far outweighs the second figure you wrote (good news). If you’re mathematically inclined you can work out the percentage of each.
      Now what I need you to do – and this is very important, Gary, is to write either a comment on this post, in Truly’s post or on your own blog that focuses entirely on positive news that you have read on WordPress. Let me know when you have done this, please.
      It’s all well and good to decry bad news and praise the good, but if we ourselves cannot do what we are telling people to do, then we are not helping change to come about.
      Once again – I appreciate your visit, Gary. If you have any questions, then please ask them after you have performed this very important exercise.
      Kindness – Robert.

      Liked by 3 people

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      • Ha-ha, Robert, good reply too. My diatribe was entirely composed of pointing out what you inferred by switching radio programmes. News pe se is more or less like might comment. Bad outweighs the good (positive). Not sure we need the math to know that! Empirical observation tells us that after watching it for half an hour on TV. Granted they need to show what’s going on, but there seems to be no attempt to balance that with all the good things that go on in the world. I’m not certain a round up for New Years Eve counts as compensation! I’ve been musing about satirical posts on these subjects for a while. As Truly will vouch, I am an advocate of kindness and see it more often than not in everyday life…well I do now, it’s not always been that way, but that journeys another tale.
        I agree with your principle too, if we don’t follow our own advice then how can we expect the word to spread? It’s a message a lot of blogs I follow say too…kindness not only helps others, but enhances personal well being at the same time.

        Liked by 3 people

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        • Gary,
          Let me be more blunt. Sometimes we need the maths to demonstrate to ourself how many instances of bad news we include in your well meaning comments. Repeating bad news to make a point is just as bad (admittedly – in my opinion) as reporting the bad news in the first place. If you’re not aware that you’re doing this, read back through your comment. I say this with the intention of helping you, Gary, not harming you. I sincerely hope you take my reply in that spirit. 🙂
          Kindness – Robert.

          Liked by 2 people

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          • I do take it in spirit and concur that data can be extremely useful, science being my career background, needs no advice upon that one! My point was, as I said, to affirm what you were saying and why I have reduced watching the “news” for a similar reason. Obviously I’m aware of what I was saying and could easily have written that comment entirely from a positive perspectve too, although context would have then been different.

            Liked by 2 people

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            • Thanks Robert; good to see we are really batting from the same wicket; so to speak. Great debate post this one and fantastic to have an opportunity to do exactly that!

              All good here, given school has broken up and kids are home! Hope all’s well with you too. Will connect with your blog now as well 🙂

              Liked by 2 people

            • Like that analogy very much; makes sure the message keep sticking over and over. Much needed in this day and age.

              The dinosaurs are still active on my personal FB page, but trying to up the game on my author profile deemed it wise to harmonise avatars. Amazed you remember it 🙂

              Liked by 1 person

            • Ha-ha, it so is, I wondered if you’d remember, although I have had a bit of a hiatus from blogging earlier this year and only recently started catching up. Just HAD to drop over from Truly’s re-blog 🙂

              Liked by 1 person

            • It has been a while! Mind you, I had a bit of a break after doing NaNoWriMo last year. Possibly an under exaggeration that; more like a few months. It was very draining. In recovery now, although my blog has suffered from sporadic posts. A few author spotlights and such like, but trying to concentrate on my writing… well that’s the intention!!!

              Liked by 1 person

            • I was indeed, well I overshot the target wordcount, but the novel still needs a few more chapters to complete. I found it quite an intense experience. Hugely productive as you say, but really draining wrt fiction writing. Mind you, it certainly got 80% of a novel done!

              Liked by 1 person

            • I’m toying with this year too. I have a project I need to re-write and knock into shape. We all have those issues of trust in our own work too. I think Truly hit it a while back with cognitive dissonance. That mind switching between its good and it’s rubbish with us in the middle stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Must breathe and be mindful in those moments! Thanks Robert. Positive words, as you well know, are essential to remember when the tide trues to turn on us 😊

              Liked by 1 person

            • Me too, in truth I was sceptical until I did an eight week course on it at the start of last year. It reminded me very much that younger me lost that somewhere along the way. Timely reminder! 😊

              Liked by 1 person

            • Spot on Robert; I think it is an natural evolution point. Maybe in subsistence existences it stays because internal programming says it has to to survive. In the modern world life is relatively easy so maybe it slips away unnoticed until we start thinking somethings wrong. On my mindfulness course they emphasised it required the commitment to re-train how we think and form new habits to ensure the mind stays in the here and now. It’s quite tough doing that, but not impossible 🙂

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