June’s Big Question – Are You Ready for Some Good News?

I think you all know that I’m a huge fan of Oprah and O, The Oprah Magazine. At the start of this year the magazine called 2018 the Year of Big Questions. I told myself that I’d be addressing these questions to myself and seeking the answers to perhaps dig deeper into my inner self. I wrote a little bit about it but haven’t addressed it again here on my blog like I had planned to. That’s about to change… I’m addressing June’s Big Question today and will be following up every month addressing each new question (I may even try to go back and answer the ones I missed here on the blog as well).

June’s Big Question is “Are You Ready for Some Good News?” I read through the pages of the Oprah Magazine that focus on the topic. The magazine is FILLED with many examples of good news. With so much bad and depressing news out there in our world it’s easy to realize that there’s so much good news that we’re overlooking or missing out on.

Being inundated with negative news can lead to despair. I watch one of the world news shows on tv at 5:30 every evening. My daughter always walks into the room and says “Not again, everything they talk about is bad. Why do you watch the news?” I tell her that I need to know what’s going on in the world so I can be informed. So, with that being said, I’m dedicating this post to my daughter and to all others who are ready for some good news.

I’m going to start my good news off with a conversation that I had with my seven year old nephew in the car a few days ago. I picked him up at day camp and he mentioned a new friend that he met at camp who has a different color skin than he does. He told me that it doesn’t matter what color skin you have as long as you’re not a bully. It’s so nice and refreshing to listen to innocent children and their perspective. On another day he actually did witness another child being bullied. He told me that he reported it to the counselor and made that boy his friend so he could protect him. I love his confidence. He was a hero at camp!

A few pieces of good news from among many:

• President Trump signed an executive order to keep families together at the border, reversing his position that he has no authority to do so. We all know the recent uproar over children being separated from their families. Hopefully these families will be reunited soon.
• Former President Jimmy Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia does not have a practicing physician. He is helping make changes for this city. He rallied representatives of the Mercer University School of Medicine to open a new clinic in Plains next month. This will make it the first rural clinic that is managed by the university. Fun fact – I graduated from Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts in Macon, Georgia.
• Meanwhile, at a World Cup match Japan’s soccer fans drew cheers online for their courteous behavior in cleaning up trash in the stadium in Russia after an upset win over Colombia. Their cleanliness also appeared to be contagious. Senegal’s fans followed in a later game by picking up after themselves when they were done celebrating a 2-1 win over Poland.
• In Parkland, Florida we have the students and families affected by the tragedy who have faced unimaginable loss. They are now advocates for change in our gun laws to make our country a safer place.
• Just as I was finishing up my writing of this post I was watching the news and saw a story that brought tears to my eyes. I had to include it here. A one year old girl suffering from leukemia needed a life-saving bone marrow transplant. She was a perfect match with a college student across the country. The transplant took place and the now three year old girl was the flower girl in her donor’s wedding. Such a sweet story!!

There really is good news going on in our world daily. Did you know that there are websites you can visit that focus on good news, positive stories and inspirational messages?

I’m a “glass is half full” kind of person and am forever the optimist. So tell me, are you ready for some good news? Share something good in the comments below.