Finding joy in life
The sky turns from crystal clear, robin egg blue to dusty gray this Monday afternoon as the wind begins to freshen. A rare summer storm is blowing in and the game of golf scheduled for this early evening requires a raincheck — lightning and golf don’t mix.
The rain falls first intermittently, teasing my senses with a hint of what’s to come then intensifies. I open my front door, sit on the porch and enjoy the beauty. I breathe deeply inhaling the sweet, pungent freshness of ozone — smiling widely remembering this odoriferous experience of my childhood.
As quickly as the storm arrives, the rain stops, the sun peeks through the clouds and a rainbow appears. As the rain ends, bees return to work collecting pollen from the lavender in my front yard, two squirrels chase each other around an oak tree and birds return to singing. The disappointment of a missed game of golf turns to joy as I experience this gift from God.
The sun sets in the western sky with a blaze of indigo, scarlet, coral and salmon. I click a few pictures to document this Maxfield Parish-like painted masterpiece then walk into my house and turn on the television. My pulse instantly rises as the news recaps the National Republican Convention, the shooting of police officers in Baton Rouge, the Black Lives Matter movement, a fire in Spokane and the arrest of a child molester.
After the headlines, I turn off the television and am depressed. After an amazingly beautiful natural life-experience, I am crushed by the false, media-hyped, over-produced, fake-reality of American television. In my brief 12-minutes of watching the nightly news, I am flooded with everything that is bad in the world. This makes me sad.
Don’t get me wrong; I believe that knowledge is power. As Thomas Jefferson says, “A well-informed electorate is a prerequisite for democracy.” That being said, what I watch on television is not real. Television has one purpose — to keep me watching television so I buy or vote for whatever product or candidate the advertising department of the television station contracts with.
The same is true with the National Republican Convention and the Democratic National Convention; both are productions — not unlike a reality show. I know this but still watch with a psychological, emotional and cognitive filter. I understand the manipulative necessity of each party and attempt to read between the lines to determine my vote for the presidential office.
I am a sheeple (sheep-people); I often follow the crowd blindlessly. Understanding the news I watch is bias, the paper I read has an agenda and not everything I read on the Internet is truthful, I am still a consumer — I watch, read and surf daily and religiously. Might the world be a better place if there is a media outlet, website, news channel or television show that simply delivers the facts, without bias or motivation?
Life is full of disappointment. Our community, state and nation are at a crossroads. One is bombarded with negativity daily and often struggle to find hope in a hopeless world. I suggest it is time to think — not blindlessly accept all that is offered on television, online or in the newspaper but truly think about the true “right.”
I suggest one finds joy in this life that offers endless beauty — watch a thunderstorm, a puppy play or a child learn. Learn about the truth in life, politics and life-struggles, then make a decision based on what is important in one’s life. Life is too short to dwell on what is not right; what’s not important. It is time to explore what is right, what’s working, what makes one’s life better and avoid what makes one’s life needlessly stressful. The stressors of life in America today are manageable if one chooses to take a deep breath and breathe deeply.
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Send comments or other suggestions to William Rutherford at bprutherford@hotmail.com or visit pensiveparenting.com.