Do you need a timeline cleanse like I do? I mean, the news has been kind of ... overwhelming lately.
First, ask yourself where you find joy. I’ve asked others that question, and sometimes they can’t remember anything that brings them joy. That’s rough. I have a list, and I work on growing it. It includes simple things like daffodils and sunsets, and bigger things like traveling to new places. I love seeing my daughters’ creativity in areas I do not have, including painting, photography and interior decorating. I love the smell and feel of newborn babies. I am super excited for a new grandbaby coming in the next few days. I find joy in listening to music (including about three months worth of Christmas music every year), I love baking and I love watching “The Great British Baking Show.”
A couple of weeks ago, I asked a room full of women who were feeling “crispy” around the edges (burned out) about what brings them joy and heard answers like hiking and other forms of exercise, creating through textile arts, grandchildren, laughing with friends, flowers, rainbows, good books, good movies and more.
Instead of doomscrolling, let’s try joyscrolling. I am positive that we can find uplifting stories, thoughts and images that can boost our spirits. Yes, it takes effort, especially since those darn algorithms love to feed us stories that make us upset. But it’s worth it! How about funny animal videos? Dogs, cats, baby elephants — or how about chickens with shoes?
Or a happy dog with their favorite Disney character?
Or how about sneezing baby pandas?
And of course baby elephants.
I love baby talk. It’s so cute! They are so intent, you just know they are really trying to say something.
Speaking of babies and toddlers ... have you ever watched a toddler pick up rocks? Mine usually put theirs in their mouth. Here’s a fun story about a toddler who picked up a “rock” that turned out to be almost 4,000 years old.
Food is always a winner, especially food and little kids.
Good sport trying mommy’s cooking:
Really amazing chocolate creations:
I love photos of nature, too.
From space ...
... to the ocean floor.
From the mountain tops ...
... to sea level.
And then, there are news stories like these:
A Deseret News piece on Sage, the USU police dog, who is connecting the campus. “Unlike most police K-9 animals who can’t be petted or greeted by those they pass in their duties, Sage is meant to make friends, receive many pats and be a comfort to everyone around her. Sage is a community engagement, critical incident and crisis response K-9, the first of her kind in Utah.”
And this profile on Utah’s “Mother Teresa,” Pamela Atkinson, in the Deseret News. “It’s hard to live in Utah and not know the name Pamela Atkinson. It’s even on the state tax form for a homeless trust fund. Drive downtown in Salt Lake City and you may pass the Pamela Atkinson Fourth Street Clinic or Pamela’s Place transitional housing. Her First Presbyterian Church has a Pamela’s Closet, collecting items to donate to nonprofits like Thrive, which helps refugees who survived torture.”
And Mia Love’s “Living Wish,” also in the Deseret News: “Some have forgotten the math of America — whenever you divide you diminish. What I know is that the goodness and compassion of the American people is a multiplier that simply cannot be measured. The goodness and greatness of our country is multiplied when neighbors help neighbors, when we reach out to those in need and build better citizens and more heroic communities.”
There is good out there. It’s up to us to find it and then share it.