Nothing to fear but fear itself

President Roosevelt made that title comment way back in 1933 in his first inaugural - nothing to fear but fear itself (paraphrased). Roosevelt was coming to office in some pretty dire times - the Great Depression, as we now refer to it. Rubel Shelly reminded me of that in a Heartlight piece today, a devotional thought distribution I get daily. Neither of us was there, but we read it. Shelly went on to say,,

You and I have been living a "culture of fear" -- in politics,business, finance, education, water-cooler conversation, you name it.We have forgotten the obvious and emphasized the negative. So fear has been allowed to keep us awake, cloud our decisions, and poison our relationships.

How true it is! I have often thought of the disservice 24/7 news brings to all of us. The latest is a constant feeding on the event of swine (hog) flu, which has almost supplanted the economic doldrums and so many other causes with which the news media hang these day.

I have found that I fare much better by just not tuning in. If I want to feel good, and feel like I have some control over my destiny, I need to cut out the bad stuff and instead think about the good. The way they treat the bad news today I liken to the way it used to be with soap operas (so called). One could miss a week or two and tune back in and find the same act still going on. That is about the way the news media is today.

So is the glass half full or half empty? We would all be much better off in thinking of it as half full. Thinking that way we might also think that it will be full one day. The converse is to look for emptiness.

By the way, I know that thinking it does not necessarily make it so but it is a much better position, if we think the good and not the bad. I remember as a kid a story about a train trying to get over the mountain - I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. Then as the top of the grade is reached - I know I can, (faster) I know I can, I know I can. Little things we learned long time ago are still correct.

The other memory is of Martin Luther King singing "We shall overcome."

We need to think more of the good and less of the bad. Avoid the "water cooler" talk. Then, do something about it!