With recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Lebanon, the Syrian refugee crisis and all of the other race and gender-based violence in the news, it is tempting to think that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. While it is true that there are a lot of issues these days residing in that fiery, satanic handbasket, there are also bits of light still to be seen. In the interest of finding something nice to talk about to offset all of the bad, here are five things I am happy about. Feel free to introduce these topics at the Thanksgiving table when Great Uncle Joe starts talking about how the world was so much better in 1947.
- Afternoon naps can lower blood pressure. Oh my gosh - how happy am I that science is telling me to sleep in the afternoon? According to a recent article on the Good News Network, by napping you can lower your blood pressure. If you work in an office, this is a perfect excuse to buy this George Costanza-esque nap desk. If you do buy and use such a desk, be sure to take pictures and post them to your favorite social media outlet because laughter is really good for your health as well and you will be helping your friends stay healthy.
- Worldwide hunger is getting better. According to a State of Food Insecurity (SOFI) report from the Food and Agriculture Organization, while over 795 million people worldwide still remain hungry, the number of hungry people has declined by 167 million in the past 10 years and 216 million globally since the early 90's, even in the face of global increases in population of over 1.9 billion. Social "safety net" programs that provide food distribution and employment guarantees are a large part of this success and according to SOFI, "Today, every country in the world has at least one social safety net programme in place." Sure, we can do more, but let's look at this as a positive sign that we are going in the right direction.
- If you did the Ice Bucket Challenge, it might actually have helped. Scientists are crediting the extra funds raised by the Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon for a recent breakthrough that might eventually cure ALS and has positive implications for helping find treatment for Alzheimer's and muscular dystrophy. This breakthrough involves TDP-43, which acts as a splicing suppressor of nonconserved cryptic exons. This means a crucial protein does... something. Or maybe it doesn't do something? You should probably just read the Washington Post article, or if you know what an "exon" is, you can find the whole study here. But, even if you don't have a PhD in something that involves "splicing suppressors," you can feel happy that you did not go through all of that painful nipple contraction and the completely inadvertent gasp of surprise for nothing.
- If you get bored meditating, you can now color instead. According to recent reports, the process of coloring allows us to disengage our brains and focus on just one thing, similar to the process of meditation. And because it doesn't require inherent artistic skill, coloring is accessible to people who are not artists. If you want to get some of the benefits of meditation but don't have the desire to sit still for so long, maybe pick up a coloring book and see how zen you can be.
- You may not be able to create world peace today, but you can still choose peace. I know. This sounds like beautiful, tree-hugging nonsense, but concepts like 'random acts of kindness' and 'paying it forward' can actually positively impact your health and your outlook and might even help the world. This Huffington Post article details the health benefits of being kind which include improved heart health and slower aging, and it also details how kindness can be contagious. I totally believe in this and I have a super scientific way to prove it. OK, it's actually just a personal story, but let's go with it.
My daughter and I were at a stop light and there was a man asking for money on the median. Like many people, I have mixed feelings about the effectiveness of giving cash to the homeless - would the money be better spent in a program designed to end the causes of homelessness? Will it be spent on liquor, drugs or Justin Beiber music? But lately I have decided that it makes me feel good to give a dollar to someone in need. So if I have a dollar, I give it. After giving the man a dollar, my daughter observed that if one person at the light gave something it seemed that more people were likely to do so as well. We've tested this a couple of times and it seems to resonate. I'm honestly not sure if subsequent people give out of guilt or kindness - and if its guilt, they actually probably feel a little resentful of me. But on the upside, I am pretty sure that at least someone emerges from the situation feeling grateful, even if it's just Justin Beiber's accountant.
I wish I could make all of the hate disappear in the world. I wish I could actively eliminate both the causes and the results of terrorism. But until I get a lot smarter or acquire a magic wand from Mr. Ollivander, I will just keep looking for the good where I can. And I'll take a lot more naps.