Back To Basics
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The world is neither dark, nor barren, nor cold and forbidding. Only people can make it a sad and dismal place and we have power over our actions.
Lately the morning news seems simply dreadful. It was a very discouraging morning yesterday. There was an article in Slate Magazine, which referenced a study detailing the increase of Hate Groups since the election in November 2016:
This article lead me to the to the following article at the Southern Poverty Law Center talking about the increase of hate groups and their activities:
Just as a steady diet of sweets and fats will lead to deteriorating health, (diabetes, heart disease and hypertension) an intellectual diet of fear and anger every day can only lead to confusion and dysfunction.
Is the increase of the number of Hate Groups attributable to the recent election, or it a result of tough economic and social situations people face? It’s hard to tell. But is it poisoning us as individuals and wrecking havoc on our social systems? Absolutely!
Just as being physically healthy is a full time job, being emotionally healthy is also a full time job. So how do we move forward and work to bring some peace and tranquility to our lives? We do it the simple old-fashioned way. We move back to basics and work at it.
What does getting back to basics entail? I see it as getting in touch with one’s self. It does not have to be a deep introspective search reliving all of our triumphs and failures, but we do have to do some soul searching.
A good way to start is by making a list of what you consider the good things in your life right now. When I look at my life I see:
· a wonderful wife who loves me
· reasonably good health which I’ve been working on, is getting better every day
· a host of friends
· a calling that enables me to prepare one message for my church family each month
· the blessing of two church families - one at the beach and one in the high desert
· the ability to spend time doing the things I love
Best of all I still have the ability to look around the world and instead of seeing only darkness I can see some light in all of the problems. I see people doing good things every day, and this gives me hope and encouragement.
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