The Good News of a New BabyCongratulations! In one fell swoop you have a bouncing, screaming, staring, loving, pooping, peeing and crying example of the best news of all; the Good News of a newborn baby!
Now, you may ask, what can I do to counter this online, network driven, omnipresent availability of bad news
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All relationships begin with a "Hello." And nowadays this "Hello." is often a facebook greeting and more times than not, it's a text or maybe even some form of a tweet. And although each of these has some value, there's nothing that comes close to an old school, face-to-face, "Hello." I think about this often whenever I'm on a walk with my daughter, at the local coffee shop or simply observing folks going about their day. And when doing this I'm both inspired, and at times flustered at the paucity of human interactions between humans interacting with each other on a daily basis.
The inspiration comes from this, and yes, this may seem overly simplistic, but we must realize that as a result of a "Hello." we've each come to know our neighbors and make many friends from a variety of professions, backgrounds and life circumstance. "Hello." is the bread and butter to our daily diet, it is the entry way to new relationships, partners, experiences and a pathway to bring about change in ourselves and those around us. But more and more there's less reliance or trust in the old school "Hello." Whether people are apprehensive about the social nuances needed to form new relationships, or we've come to mistake a text message, or more friends on facebook as sound replacements for a "Hello", there's a overwhelmign trend toward digital conversations.
That being said, it's time to state unequivocably that a "Hello." is good news. Genetically, we are social beings. We are engineered to seek out social relationships, eye contact, physical interaction, the security of a handshake and the comfort of a hug. The more we receive these, and yes, the more we give them out, the more content and secure we become. Yes, the Doctor of Good News is showing his age here, but replacing true social interaction with digital handshakes, or www.hugs, provides a false and very artificial sense of what we are predisposed to crave.
The relationships we begin with a "Hello." are not deleted with the push of a button, nor can they be unfriended while on your iphone. More than that, true, tangible relationships borne out of an old school, "Hello" can continue offline and are available even when wi-fi access is not. So here's what I'd like for each of you to consider doing. Check the roster of people on your email list, your facebook page, or even the one you've texted five times or more in the past week, but haven't talked to in that same amount of time. Pick one, two or maybe three of them and simply give them a call. Hear their voice, feel yourself in actual conversation, shake their hand, give them a "good to see ya'" hug and spend some true quality time with a person you call a friend. And more than that, when you see them again, when you hear their voice take note of the first thing that you're likely to say to one another, as it's likely the same words uttered when the relationship began.
A simple, old school and timeless, "Hello."
"Hello" is good news.
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The backstory for this video is a troubling one, and for several weeks made national news. Following the fireworks on the 4th of July a large group of youths burst into a gas station and began looting and ransacking the place. Each and every moment was caught on camera and soon the airwaves were jammed with these scenes. Talk radio was tossing out storylines of "kids today!", demonizing specific classes and races, and some even using it as a bully pulpit to promote the unrestricted use of guns on our streets. This was the story and it was tough to get away from it for some time. However, amidst the mosaic of negativity and bad news, there was one shining and proud example of what a strong and positive parent can do. One that changed the discussion and encouraged others to look past those who are shouting, and rather attend to the ones quietly doing what's right.
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