Quite a while ago We eliminated t.v. news from our life by cancelling our t.v. subscription and it was a relief.  I became a headline reader to reduce the stress. That practice helped because I was no longer being drenched in the constant negative news where people were hurling insults at each other rather than having a dignified debate. After a while, even the headlines seemed to seep into my psyche with negative messaging.  

The negative bias was not limited to politics.  I realized after a fashion that most advertising uses fear when trying to sell products.  Pharmacy ads are prolific and costly suggesting we should ask our Dr. for this med or that med…then listing about 100 possible side effects if we use it.

Retirement ads are everywhere asking “Do you have enough to retire?” Well if I don’t know the answer to this, there is someone who will help me figure this out (for a fee). Do I really want to know at this late age?  Where does faith come into these ads?

There are ads out there showing us the latest and the greatest in everything. If we buy into this line of thinking, then pretty soon our cars and houses seem old and small when previously they suited us just fine.  

Oh, and then there are the exercise ads that show buffed, lean, glistening younger (and older) people running down the road in an attempt to tell us we are unfit and unwell if we don’t look this way.

I stopped reading headlines and I have never been happier. I have also stepped back from negative people. I decided to stop reaching out to people who did not reach out to me. I politely declined lunch dates with someone who would always tend to make me feel less at peace upon leaving the lunch than when I first arrived.  

This isn’t to say that we are ostrich’s with our heads in the sand.  What we are saying is that we are taking control of our lives as much as we are able and seeking the goodness and blessings in it.  To those who might fault us for not staying informed, I say we can be informed without subjecting ourselves to a constant onslaught of toxic input.  We will do it from our viewing seats which are now the furthest possible seats from the arena of todays news.

We are both so much happier as we thank God each day FOR each day we are given and for a multitude of blessings.  We also choose to BE a blessing to those around us.

It is Good Friday today, the anniversary of a day when a perfect man’s life was taken from Him because of the negative news of the day spreading in nasty fear filled rumors.  Beware of popular opinion….it is not always correct nor is it always spread around for the good of mankind.

Its a solemn day in the retelling of the story of how badly humans can behave. But it is a good day in showing how God conquers evil.

Church tonight and we are going.  Easter is around the corner. Praise God!