Peaches has the right idea: less stress.

All the negativity is starting to get to me. Or maybe, it’s been getting to me for a while and I’m just now realizing it. Either way it’s not good for me, it’s not good for us, and I for one don’t want anymore of it.

While surfing around various sites for the latest news and possible topics of inspirational value, I came across the homepage of a major news outlet that I frequent. From top to bottom, left to right, the page was plastered with nothing but bad news. Bad hard news, negative opinion pieces, horrific forum comments–not even the ads were positive because they all told you to hate yourself for being fat. It’s so easy to get caught up in everything that’s going on and there is no shortage of negative news to get attached to. Everywhere you look from politics to social issues, all that seems to be going on is bad. It seems that the old adage of “if it bleeds, it leads” still rings true. My mind needs a vacation from all of the muck. At the very least I could use a respite to gather my strength to deal with the media onslaught that will be the upcoming presidential election. Lord help us when that kicks into high gear.

When I step back from everything going on around me (or within for that matter) I always come to see that things aren’t that bad; it could always be a heck of a lot worse. The things that really matter in my life: my family, my friends are all alive and well and that’s what matters. I still have the ability to hug my son, play a game with him, teach him how to be a man and let him know that I love him. I still have the ability to sit in a warm house at the dinner table with my family and enjoy a home cooked meal. I can still go to church and worship freely with my brothers and sisters. I can stilll go to the dojo to teach and workout or help a friend take down a rather resilient sniper from across the map in  heated match of Halo Reach online. My blessings are endless but getting caked in our own miseries for some reason is more appealing. There’s a whole lot I can be mad about, upset about, whatever. But at the end of the day you only have so much control over what you can do so why stress it? Besides, it takes a lot more energy to stay pissed off then it does to give it to God and leave it there.

I like to stay up on current events but even I have my limits. I think we need to laugh more, to appreciate what we do have more. I’m the first one to admit that I’m guilty of letting things seep into my thinking. As a journalist it’s in our blood to dig into a story and find the ends and outs the past and the present. Anything that will give you a better understanding of what is going on. Because of that, it can bring you down if you’re not careful. We all know that there are good things happening everyday; in and around our lives. So what if I shift my focus, start paying attention more to the positive things going on. It isn’t as if there is shortage of coverage of the alternative and besides I think it would do some good, at least for me it would. Anything is worth a shot because this is not a good long term option. Not only that but Halo 4 comes out this year and that’s got to put a smile on my face.