A Day Without the News

I am a news junkie. On a normal day I watch it at least twice a day. I read my articles of choice on the San Jose Mercury News website. I get Yahoo Alerts sent to my e-mail just so I can keep up on any big surprises of the day. I love listening to people talk about events of our times and ponder how it will be recorded in the history books. Lately it has become rather mundane. All I hear is the economy is bad, the economy is going to remain bad for several years and tips on how to keep from foreclosing on my house. And then Swine Flu reared its ugly head. Now we can leave feel bad about the economy behind and shoot right into fear mongering. Yes, I know; swine flu is not passed from uncooked pork. I know how to cover my mouth and nose when I cough or sneeze and I'm really good at washing my hands. I guess I hit overload this week when from the moment I turned the TV on in the morning until I headed out the door to work it was reports on swine flu, Obama's first 100 days, swine flu, Wolverine, and a final report on swine flu. Now mind you, these reports were not all exactly the same. The first one was an interview with a doctor who said that 60% of the people that came to his hospital to be tested were negative so don't come unless you're really sick. The next one was a reporter saying that almost half of the people who showed up tested positive. And the last one gave symptoms of swine flu and suggested to the audience that if you think you have it, please get tested. Huh? So yesterday I made a conscious choice to live a day without the news. And guess what. This morning I woke up feeling just fine about my world. Yeah, I'm sure a few people died yesterday and maybe one or two of them even died from Swine Flu. But I didn't have to look at the news anchors' worried faces on my TV screen and listen to those trigger words: pandemic, outbreak, crisis, panic. The world is a fine place. There will always be wonderful and terrible things happening to us as humans. Unfortunately the news only focuses on the negative side. It is up to us to balance it out with the positive. The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, I have food, water, shelter and wonderful friends and family to support me and lead me forward. A day without the news is a very healthy thing to do every now and then.