This Is the News
I love this brief pocket of time right before we step into a new year. It offers a chance to cast a gaze back over what we’ve moved through. As I sit in quiet contemplation this morning, I’m thinking about the writing I did a few weeks ago about walking on the beach and I’m realizing there is another part of the story to share.
I was visiting my parents in western Washington state, and had started my day as I normally do: reading headlines and articles from several newspapers. Over the course of the year I had cut way back on my news consumption, and no longer watched any news on TV, but I still started my day reading the papers. By the time we left the house, I had read of conflict, strife, unmet needs, dastardly deeds, and impending doom: a heavy bag of stones to hoist on my shoulders for the rest of the day.
We piled into the car and drove towards the coast, bundled up in puffy coats, knit caps and gloves… and me with that bag of stones sitting on my lap. We drove through valley farmland under the imperial gaze of the Olympic Mountains, wove our way along Crescent Lake’s mirror-like waters, through dark forests reminiscent of Hansel and Gretl, and then stepped out into the sunshine and crisp air of Rialto Beach.
We walked for hours along that beach, in the company of an eagle, an osprey, giant driftwood, shiny rocks, roaring surf, the sun in our eyes, the wind on our cheeks and fresh air in our lungs… and that bag of rocks on my back. When we arrived at the Hole in the Wall, - a stunning geologic formation and natural work of art - in awe, I stooped over purple tidal pools to marvel at dozens of giant green sea anemones.
As I was doing this (I'll admit here, in this judgment-free zone, that I was talking out loud to the anemones and telling them what a joy it was to see them) I looked up and saw a stranger coming through the rock opening, the hole in the wall, backlit by rays of sunlight. As he grew near, I said, “Isn’t this amazing?! It’s so much better than the news.”
He stopped, looked at me with kindness, and then replied gently, “This is the news.”
Yes! Of course it is! And like that, the bag of rocks was gone. In its place I carried home the feel of the sun, the wind, the air, the memories of birds and waves and sea anemones. This is the news! I am so grateful to that stranger who helped me shift perspective, who lightened my load.
As we enter this coming year, I am setting an intention to be present for the goodness of daily life. And I'll watch for the urge to inject what the papers call news into conversation. I'll aim instead to share the fuller perspective of life with others, the perspective that recognizes the wonder around and within us.
By the way, there is more good news! Science shows that we are wired to be aware of threat, but we can rewire our brains to have a more accurate view of the world that gives airtime to all the goodness around us. We can do this through gratitude and appreciation practices. You can visit CMP’s growing library of guided meditations for examples of these practices, and others.
Wishing you a year filled with the awareness of the goodness in life.
With love and gratitude for the community we share,
Your CMP Family
