What the World Needs Now

Photo by Kenny Vaughn

“Amazement awaits us at every corner.”
~ James Broughton

During tumultuous times, it’s easy to feel disheartened.

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, the rapid changes we’re seeing in our country right now are unsettling. Nearly everyone has been affected in one way or another. Anxiety is high since we don’t know what to expect from one day to the next. Some days it seems like good news is very hard to find.

I’ve talked with so many people lately who have expressed this dilemma: they want to stay informed but don’t want to “live” in the negativity that confronts them in the daily news.

The answer is to pay attention when we feel ourselves getting overwhelmed, and then shift our focus to stories that remind us about the amazing world we live in.

Toward that end, I thought I’d share some of the ones that have buoyed me up over the last couple of weeks:

Every mental health site I visit talks about the healing power of nature. It truly is miraculous. Take a look at these stunning photos by nature photographer Kenny Vaughn. (The bear photo that appears above this post is one of my favorites.) Kenny, who considers himself a hobbyist, specializes in taking close-ups of wildlife in motion — often procuring food or caring for their young. The proximity of his action shots makes you feel like you are right there with him and his subjects. Here is his Facebook photo page, shared with permission.

The stars and heavens have long been a source of comfort and fascination for humans. Check out these photographs from award-winning astrophotographer Mihali Minkov from Bulgaria, who traveled to some of the world’s most spectacular locations to get these other-worldly shots.

Humans can do miraculous things, too. Watching them perform feats we can’t imagine doing ourselves even after years of practice is awe-inspiring. See U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu bring down the house in Boston a few weeks ago when she won the Women’s World Figure Skating Championship.

Inspiration can also come from watching young entrepreneurs with a purpose work hard to achieve their goals. Read the story of several Minnesota college students, Erik Brust and Connor Wray, who perfected a process for making delicious, healthy popsicles in their dorm room in 2012. They went on to establish a national company and in 2018 they joined Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” list. More impressive, in an effort to make the world a better place, on every popsicle stick they print a suggestion to “pay it forward” with a good deed. They have also implemented anti-bullying campaigns in schools across the country. In case you’re wondering, my current addiction is the Summer Strawberries variety.

There is something heartwarming about watching people perform together in perfect harmony, especially when it’s for a good cause. Listen to this all-star group of artists from the theatre and pop world sing “What the World Needs Now” in 2016. The song was produced by Broadway for Orlando, a charitable initiative created to honor the victims of the Orlando shooting massacre at the Pulse Nightclub.

This is just a sampling, but you get the point. In just a few moments of reading, watching, or listening to something amazing or breathtaking, we can shift our view to a more positive one.

Stress and anxiety can disconnect us from our humanity and cause us to forget about the “one wild and precious life” available to us that poet Mary Oliver refers to in her famous poem The Summer Day.

Focusing on emotionally uplifting stories can help to restore our equilibrium and open our hearts again.

When you’re disillusioned with the state of the world, remember to seek out stories like these that touch you, thrill you, or move you to happy tears.

What the world needs now is not only love, but a bit of inspiration!

Affectionately,

Elaine

P.S. In a moment of serendipity, at a live choral concert I attended on Sunday, the song “What the World Needs Now” was added to the program at the last minute. Hearing it gave me chills, since I had already started writing this post!