No News Is Good News

No News Is Good News

“No news is good news” literally means “not getting any news about anything is good. “ However, it does not imply that all news are bad news, nor does it mean that one should bury one’s head in the sand, and just refuse to listen to any news about anything.

News is no more than information from a given source about something that happened,   is happening, or about to happen. In this day and age, news is always rampant with the advancement of high technology. The wisdom is to look at the news objectively, internalize it intuitively, and to get the wisdom out of it, irrespective whether the news is good or bad. To get that wisdom, you need to ask questions.

Asking questions is an important component of wellness wisdom. Asking question often triggers its own set of answers, which may invoke certain emotions, leading to certain actions or inactions. In particular, asking mind-opening questions is life changing because it will shape your life positively or negatively, depending on the questions asked and the answers obtained.

The News

(January 12, 2014) According to CNN, “The world of political intrigue with backstabbing revenge against troublesome foes and threats against friends all in the name of winning an election or consolidating political power-is not just for Netflix’s hit drama ‘House of Cards.’”

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s scandal in allegedly playing a role in motivation of traffic debacle is an example of bitterness and political vendetta. The news was not just bad for the Governor but also for the public. Irrespective of the Governor’s guilt or innocence, how can we trust public officials, and how could people be so vicious and vindictive?

The good news is that we can always learn something from the bad news.

Political vendetta or retribution comes from bitterness, which is a toxic human emotion that originates from the ego-self—which is the source of all human miseries. The ego-self is self-importance or self-image. With the acquisition of the ego, you internalize yourself with goals and expectations to maintain and protect that ego-self falsely created in the mind. In the process, there will be disappointment, discontent, and dissatisfaction -- the raw materials for creating bitterness. When the ego is threatened, you feel nothing but “unfairness” because you strongly believe that it is rightfully yours and someone has taken or attempted to take it away from you. With the feeling of unfairness, you demand “justice.” You will not let go until that justice is meted out. Instead of forgiving and forgetting, bitterness breeds anger, and anger leads to rage and vengeance. That is how laws are broken, and crimes are committed.

Mind-wellness wisdom begins with detoxing your mind of toxic emotions by letting go the ego-self first.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau