Had enough of bad news? Go to goodnews.com.............

The News.

A human invention supposedly made for the purpose of

keeping us informed as to ''issues'', (as deemed 

by the publishers)regarded as important, significant, relevant,

and....oh, yeah,...... before the event of ''fake news''.... truthful.

According to Alison Holman and some of her colleges from the 

University of California it seems that news coverage is far

more than a source of benign facts.

What they have discovered is that it can sneak into our subconscious

and interfere with both our mental and physical health/well being.

Being peppered with bad news from morning

to night affects our emotions, we can become anxious, depressed,

and at times experience a sense of hopelessness.

Before there were podcasts, social media and websites, it was far 

easier to switch off the news if one wanted to.

All one had to do was to not read the papers and turn off the 

radio and TV.

These days however, most of the population on this planet carry with

it a 24/7 ''news delivery device'' aka a mobile/cell phone.

Phones are forever ''pinging'' everywhere you go with 

(at least in my case) news updates.

Since tragedy and disaster sell more ''clicks'' (papers),

good news stories hardly ever make the ''front page''/views.

Us humans are prone to negativity-bias, which means we pay

more attention to ''blood and guts'' than ''butterflies and

rainbows''. 

Not only do we pay more attention to negative stimuli, but

we also tend to dwell on it. 

(Ex: ''Building collapses and kills 4 children and injures 56.''

Why not: ''Building collapses and injures 56 children only 4 died.'')

Friend: ''I love your new place, it's so fresh and light and the view is

fantastic, but, it's quite small isn't it?''

You: ''Small? What do you mean small? I don't think it's small.''

After your friend has left what is the word that sticks?

Fantastic? Fresh? Light? or small?

I'm guessing that for the next few days you'll keep pondering 

if your new place perhaps is too small.

We dwell on the one negative aspect even if it is wrapped up in a 

thousand superlatives. Some say that we do so because

it helps us to deal with possible threats.

Hm. I don't know about that.

Right now I have a feeling that inserting a few more ''good news'' 

stories amongst all the ''bad news'' ones could be a

good idea. Because, here's the thing, good things happen

every day just like bad things. We're just not told

about them as loudly and as often.

Some years back I decided to just check and see if there

was a Good News site, and lo and behold, I found a few.

Just Google Good News and you will find them.

Does the heart good methinks.

Once upon a time, the news used to be synonymous

with facts, with accuracy, with objectivity, and an

adherence to ethics and throwing light on subject

matters hidden in the dark.

But sadly, I'm not so sure that this is the case any more.

When you hear/watch/read the news, how often do

you take the time to find out how secure or sound the

source of the information is?

Is the source biased? Is the source reliable? Is the

source well-known and generally well-respected?

Do you only go to one site for the news or 

do you ''surf'' a few?

Do you seek confirmation only for your own views or

do you include opposing views as well?

News always go through a bias filter.

The bias of the person who owns the site, the bias of

the editor, the writer, the photographer, the site designer,

the printer, and so on.

To be a human is to be biased. We have never seen our faces

with our own eyes, we have only ever seen our faces

in the mirror, and what we see in the mirror is a mere reflection

of what we think we look like.

''Fake news and rumors thrive on line because too many

of us fail to take the time to check the veracity of what

we read. Often we merely seek for content that reinforces 

our own biases.''

(Citizen Z)

about the image: Ink on paper, some editing in Photoshop

What is the soul? James Brown or...?

Browsing through a magazine I came across a photo of

this young man. The caption beneath it read: Young soldier

on the way to his first deployment.

 Some say that ''the eyes are the window to the soul''.

 Judging from the intensity in this young soldier's eyes,

I sensed a troubled and anxious soul.

Soul, in my view, is one of those ambiguous words that

is commonly used but when it boils down to it,

 can be very hard to define.

Some say that the soul is the incorporeal essence of

a living being. Others extend the meaning of the word to

include other very ambiguous words such as: conscience, reason,

 memory, thinking, perception, feeling and many more......

Ambiguous in what way? you may ask.

For me they are ambiguous because they are ''intangible''

concepts and the meaning we assign to such words depends on

our individual perception of them.

(Most of us would probably agree that living beings

have a soul, but exactly where it resides in a living being,

well, that's a different story.)

The first time I heard the word ''Soul'' was when my sister

came home with a Sam Cooke record.

I was instantly hooked and listened to 

''A change is gonna come'' over and over.

Something about the music and words just rang true to me.

Mind you, at that time I was barely a teenager and

only spoke Swedish, yet I still knew that Soul Music was

''real''. 

Compared to The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and other pop

groups at that time(-60's), Soul music had nothing to

do with ''celebreality'', nah, it was all about rhythm and

groove, with tinges of Gospel and Blues.

It was music you could really feel all through your body.

One after the other Soul artist and group hit the music

scene all over the globe. We were ''Sitting on the 

Dock of the Bay'', ''Dancing in the Streets'', showing

''Respect'', ''Stopping in the Name of Love'', and

''Getting Ready'' and ''Uptight''.

Soul Music was ''black'' music and often spoke of

 the difficulties that the African-American people were

enduring during the turbulent and often very violent 60's.

I still remember the first time I heard Marvin Gaye sing

''Trouble Man'' and Swedish though I was, somehow

music composed and performed by Black artists appealed

more to me than any other kind of music at that time.

It had........well, soul. (=deep felt emotion)

Some of us may believe that the soul is a term for 

something, an essence, that is immortal.

Something that after we die leaves our earthly bodies

and joins ....well, something eternal.

And comforting as the thought may be,

as yet, there is no real evidence for such being the case.

But then again, there are many things we consider as

''real'' though all we have are words and not scientific 

evidence to support their/its existence.

Take for instance; mind, consciousness, love, soul, time,

reality, truth, etc. etc. aka things we have words for

but we can't really prove exist.

Some things, in my view, we simply choose to 

believe to be ''real'' because we want it to be.

''I have come to realize that our soul is not a static element

or something we can ever put into words. 

It is something we find and embrace in bits and pieces

flowing through an endless journey of life.''

(Debatrayee Banerjee)

about the image: acrylic on canvas filtered in Photoshop

''I think I better dance now.......''

 My mother used to dance. Ballet that is.

Some people hear music and then instantly feel a need to

start moving their body. 

Me? Not so much until I heard ''Killing in the name of'' with

Rage Against the Machine. Truth be told, I'm not sure that

one could call what I did ''dancing'' exactly. Jumping

around would probably be closer to what I did.

''Rage'' tends to do that for me. I think it's something to

do with the energy they produce. My son loves all types

of "Metal'' as in Avant-garde, Black, Alternative, Fusion, etc..

When asked what he liked about ''Metal'' he answered: The energy.

The energy? I was perplexed. I had never thought about music

in conjunction with energy. 

Speed/tempo yes, but never the kind of energy that different 

genres of music may evoke in the listener.

Take ''relaxation music'' for instance, a billion dollar

industry. In my view it's a low energy music that helps many

of us to slow down, to relax, to chill out.

Rather than feeling the urge to get up and dance to it, most

of us would probably feel the urge to be still.

Regardless, music even if it does perhaps not entice us to dance,

it does more often than not evoke an emotional response

in of us.

I remember as a small child wondering why some music

made me feel sad and some made me feel up-beat/happy.

 Wondering why music affects our emotions/feelings

the way it does, is now a matter for serious scientific research 

by some scientists. 

What they have discovered is that

the brain does not have one special place where it analyzes

music, rather, different parts of the brain analyzes different 

parts of the music such as; melody, harmony, rhythm, 

speed/tempo, volume, instrumentation, etc. etc.

What they have also discovered (with the help of MRI, 

Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is that depending on what

we are doing, different parts of the brain ''light up''.

What they have found is that the

 parts of the brain that deals with emotions also 

light up in response to music. This, they believe,

indicates that music is directly connected to our 

feelings.

If we consider music from a global perspective, 

one may wonder if what constitutes ''sad'' and ''happy'' music 

(commonly used terms)would not perhaps vary 

from culture to culture.

 A group of researchers, 

(sorry, but I can't remember the source right now.) 

studying this particular subject decided to look into it.

     Armed with five images of faces showing different

emotions; happy, sad, angry, confused, fearful, 

and pieces of music that in their view corresponded with

those images, the group traveled across the globe

to the most remote places they could find.

What they found was that although the test subjects

had never heard the kind of music they were

subjected to, somehow most of the time they still 

connected the faces to the music ''correctly''.

Music is important, important because it connects us

in so many different ways, and it needs no translation.

At basically every significant event we take part in, there will be

music. (Imagine if there wasn't!)

We use it to celebrate different communal occasions such as births,

 weddings and funerals, dances and sports events,

parties and other kinds of gatherings, religious and

non-religious rituals, festivals and feasts, etc. etc. etc.

''Music can name the unnamable and communicate

the unknowable.''

(Leonard Bernstein)

''Where words leave off, music begins.''

(Heinrich Heine)

''Music produces a kind of pleasure humans can't do without.''

(Confucius)

''Strange though it may so seem,

 sad, sad music can actually heal.

It can be a most treasured friend,

your heavy burdens it will tend.

It can set free your hidden tears,

deep felt emotions, locked up for years.''

(Citizen Z)

Oh, I just remembered another time when

I heard a song that made me want to dance.

Well, jump around. Unfortunately I was in

my car on the way home from a gig at that time

so I had to settle for boogie-ing in my seat.

What was the song? ''Bring me to life'' with

Evanescence.

about the image: acrylic on large canvas

title: Dancers waiting for the accompanist

Just start......take the first step

The first word in the letter said: ''Congratulation! You have

won a 1.000 pound voucher at Boosey & Hawkes.'' 

''How?'' I wondered. When I bought something in a music shop in

 London my receipt had apparently been entered into a 

competition and as luck would have it, I won.

Going back to the shop to redeem my prize I decided to

use the money to buy a soprano saxophone. 

Holding the glistening, beautiful, instrument in my hands

it dawned on me that I had no idea how to play it.

As out of nowhere I suddenly remembered a Chinese saying:

''Every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.''

''Just start" I said to myself and so I did.

A year or so later I realized that I needed recording equipment.

The goal was to produce a Demo and hopefully gain some

interest from a Record label. 

I went to our local music shop, had an in depth conversation

with the proprietor as to what I needed to purchase in order

to set up a small recording studio.

''It's all about digital these days'' said the proprietor.

''Do you know anything about it?'' he asked.

''No, but I know that every journey of a thousand miles

 begins with a single step,'' I answered.

When the boxes with all the new equipment arrived

I said to myself: ''Just start.''

I made a few demo's, sent them off to a number of different

Record Companies, got a fair number of interviews, performed on

British TV and a number of Pubs and Clubs. However due to

family circumstances, we had to return to Australia.

Coming back to Australia I joined a pop band as a keyboard player,

formed a Jazz Quartet as a tenor sax player, and entered the

Conservatorium of Music.

Pondering how I was going to be able to do all these things

at the same time I said to myself: ''Just start.''

Eventually, everything fell apart. My best friend died in a

car accident, my partner wanted a divorce, my son,

a sensitive 13 year old, was bullied mercilessly at school,

and I was diagnosed with Anorexia. 

When my hair began to fall out and my doctor told

me that unless I put on weight I was going to die,

I knew that I had to sort out my life, but how?

Just start.

When my son was 17 years old he left home

and moved in to a share house with some ''friends'',

friends who turned out to be dealers, addicts and thieves.

 So began a nightmare that lasted for over ten years.

When he eventually returned home he was an alcoholic,

 diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality disorder,

and a broken man.

How does one deal with that?

Every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,

just start.

I started by accepting that I couldn't go this alone.

I needed help.

By chance I found a psychologist

who introduced me to mindfulness, and to Dialectic Behaviour 

Therapy. 

With his help I no longer had to travel my journey

of a thousand miles alone. Each step I took, he took with me.

Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder are not

mental health issues that can be cured. 

They can only be managed. 

So with the help of my psychologist and a lot of

reading and researching I gained a much better understanding

of the ''demons'' my son has to deal with.

Why is getting started sometimes so hard?

A few suggestions:

Because it involves change, and for some of us,

any kind of change can be experienced as scary.

Because some of us are scared of failing.

Because some of us are scared of looking silly

when we try something new.

Because some of us are scared that we may seem incompetent.

Let me ask you this: what would you start doing/saying/thinking

if there was no risk of you failing or looking silly?

What if there is no such thing as failure, only a less desired

outcome?

Planning to make a plan is not making a plan.

so, 

Just start.

''It's in starting with the first step other steps

become clearer.''

(?)

about the image: water colour on paper

It's not someone's age that makes someone old or young, it's his/her mindset.

Old? Nah, age is just a number so some of us may say.

Another thing some of us may say is; you're only as old as you feel.

Then there are some of us who'll use whatever method we can find

to keep old age at bay.

Old, may I suggest, is one of those contentious words that keep on

changing meaning as we live and grow through life's many different

passages.

''I'm not old, I'm mature, like a good bottle of red(wine).''

''I would prefer to be viewed as elderly rather than old, please.''

''I'm not old, I'm a senior.''

As I am getting on in years, I am finding that I often compare

myself to a car. As in: As long as the engine is healthy, a few dings and 

 a bit of rust here and there matters less. (A ''rust bucket'' with

a Porsche engine in my view is definitely preferable to the

other way around.)

The ''oil'' which no engine can do without, for me, that ''oil'' is; keeping

 an open mind and keep learning and attaining new information.

In my view, life contains of a number of different ''passages''.

And every passage we go through in life, offer us unique opportunities

to grow in wisdom, insight and understanding.

Some say that old people are set in their ways, unwilling to

embrace the ''new'', and perhaps this may be the case for

some of us, but in my view that does not necessarily have to do 

with how old someone is, rather, it depends on an 

individual's mindset.

I often watch a show called ''Millionaire hot seat'' which is just

a very generic kind of Quiz show but I still enjoy watching it.

What I have started to notice is how often competitors

in the age bracket 20-something to 30-something begin

their answers with ''that's/was before my time, but....''.

For me this is a very strange thing to say.

Is it meant to be some sort of disclaimer?

''I wasn't born then so why/how should I know?''

This puzzles me because when one is in one's 20's/30's, 

basically everything before one's birth is what is called

history, and history is taught in most schools.

(I was not alive in 1865, but I still know that that was when

the American Civil war ended, ... for instance.)

''If you don't know history, then you don't know anything.

You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree.''

(Michael Crichton)

History is more than dates, places, wars, inventions, buildings,

kings and queens, catastrophes, etc. etc. etc.

History, as I view it, provides context not only to the past but

also to the present.

''Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.''

(Winston Churchill)

In cultures that glorifies youth it can be difficult for older

people to feel that they matter, that they are still valued

and appreciated for what they contribute and have contributed.

We need to get rid of unhelpful stereotyping and stop paying too much

attention to ''isms''. (Ex: Boomers are responsible for todays troubles. 

Aka: ''agism'')

The aging process is an inevitable part of living and basing 

our treatment of our fellow human beings simply on

how many years he or she has lived could in my view

potentially rob us of unique opportunities for gaining a greater 

insight and understanding of what it is to be a human.

''I rather be an old VW Beetle with a Porsche engine

than a Porsche with an old VW engine.''

(Citizen Z)

''The wisest young is the young who can look at the

world through they eyes of the elderly.''

(Mehret Murah ildan)

''The wisest elderly is the elderly who can look at the

young through the eyes of a youth.''

(Citizen Z)

''Of course I know how old I am!

Well, I know when I was born.

I don't like doing the math so I usually just

ballpark it.''

(stuff i wrote down)

about the image: photo titled ''Bathing beauties''

Stay visible, put on a bathing suit!

What we say and what someone hears us say, can be very different things.......

Why do we scream?

There may be a bunch of different reasons as to why one may

scream, but in general I guess we mostly do so to be sure that

we are being heard.

Although, the volume at which we speak does not necessarily

 indicate the importance or weight of the words being spoken.

(It should be said though, loudly spoken words usually

get more attention than softly spoken ones.)

Speech communication (talking) involves a sender, 

a message, and a receiver.

Just bear with me here.....the thing with saying things,

is that what someone says(sender) and what someone hears(receiver), 

can be very different things (the message).

Sender: Did you take out the rubbish bin?

Message: Did you take out the rubbish bin?

Receiver: Why are you asking? I always take out

the rubbish bin!

Sender: I'm only asking because it's so full and it stinks.

 If you hadn't, I was just going to do it myself, that's all.

As for repeating the same mistake over and over, this is one

that I seem to have a problem with correcting.

I keep forgetting that the message that I think I am sending

may not be the message that the receiver hears.

While I was doing a course on crisis counseling a few

years ago it became abundantly clear to me how important

it is to make sure that the message the receiver hears is

the same message that I, or whoever the sender is,

 intended to send.

It can be easy to forget that words are not absolutes,

rather, they are mere approximations, coloured, and interpreted

according to an individual's understanding of them.

''You look nice today" you may say to someone

who may then proceed to respond with: ''So there are days when I don't?''

What? What happened? How did a simple innocuous message

turn into a ''critical'' one? What did the receiver hear?

Is this perhaps about semantics?

I am referring here to the branch of linguistics and logic

concerned with ''meaning''. In short, the meaning of a word.

A: ''Can you please lower your voice?''

B: ''Define lower please, because if you want me to whisper

why don't you just say so?''

A: ''I'm going to be a bit late tonight.''

B: ''Late as in 30 minutes, two hours, what?''

The English language is excellent in many ways, but it can

also be extremely ambiguous and confusing at times methinks.

(At this stage in my life I find that there are very few words

that can't be misunderstood one way or another.)

I just wanted to be real..........as in? Not virtual?

I am telling the truth........as in? According to what you believe

or what you know?

For instance, did you know that

there are 25 different meanings to the words: keep, round, see, 

sound etc. and 37 for the words: close, get, right?

About the meaning of words... language, when it comes down

to it, in my view, is a mere system of symbols which we use to 

express meaning. Meaning, is not in the language itself, 

rather, meaning is in the minds of the people who uses 

language to share their experiences, ideas, feelings, etc.

with each other.

It may seem as if meaning is in the word itself but perhaps

it may be more useful to think of words as ''empty vessels''.

Take the word real for instance. Nowadays this saying

is very common: ''Let's be real.'' What may the word real

mean in this sentence? It could mean: real as in honest, as

in speaking from the heart, as in facts and figures, etc.

Alas, the meaning of a word is not in the word itself, but in

the meaning ascribed to it by both by the sender and 

the receiver. Hence, we often misunderstand each other.

It's not what our message does for the receiver, 

but what the receiver does with our message,

that determines how effective we are at exchanging

our ideas and experiences with others.

Sender: ''I feel lost.''

Message: I'm not sure of my direction in life right now.

Receiver: ''Lost in what way?''

Message interpreted by receiver: ''Lost as in himself or as

in what his next move is?''

Sender: ''Lost as to whether I should look for another job or not.'' 

Receiver: ''Well, what's your options?"

If the sender and receiver happened to be in a car when the

conversation took place, the receiver could have just responded with:

''Well, what does the GPS say?''

One of the most important lessons I learned when I was doing

the crisis counseling course was to get out of the habit of

assuming.

Don't assume that you know what someone

means, ask what it means to him/her.

 Don't assume that the message you are sending is the

 message the receiver receives.

Hearing and listening are two different things.

Hearing we do with our ears, listening we do with our

ears and our minds.

''Most people don't listen with the intent to understand;

they listen with the intent to reply.''

(Stephen R. Covey)

''It is possible to hear music

yet not understand it.

 If we want to understand it, 

we need to listen.''

(Citizen Z)

about the image: Coloured ink, graphite, on paper edited in Photoshop

ps: sorry about the spacing...not intentional, a ghost in the machine

''Seek not to be popular, rather seek to be good and popularity will find you.''

What makes someone ''popular''?

Money? Looks? Status? Smarts? Physical prowess? etc. etc.

For many of us the word ''popular'' may instantly transport

us back to our schooldays. Those days when most of us

wanted to belong to ''the cool group'', to ''the most popular'',

to ''those'' always invited to all the parties, those who always

had the coolest, newest stuff.

The way we experienced our own ''popularity'' ranking to be during

(especially but not only) our high school years often seem to leave

an indelible mark on our soul. 

Being viewed as a popular person, whether we like to admit it

or not, is something many of us desire. 

And thanks to Facebook, Twitter, etc. etc. etc. that desire

can at times be satisfied. ''Yay! Ten thousand likes on my post!! or

yay, I have 30.000 followers on Twitter.''

I was not a popular person through my school years, I was

definitely classified as a ''freak''.

In short, school for me was agony until I was accepted

into the Conservatorium of Music and suddenly found

myself surrounded by other ''freaks''.

(Although, even there some people were more popular

than others, however, rather than popularity being based

upon ''luck of the genetics draw'' (looks, status, money, etc.)

it seemed to depend more on good communication skills, attitude, 

friendliness and musical abilities.)

Why is popularity so important to us humans?

Through much research done by scientist into the subject of 

popularity they have learned that it is something of a

paradox. Though it may be a fundamental desire

in human nature to be popular it doesn't necessarily mean

that it is always good for us.

Although one may think that most popular people are

happier people, that is not always the case.

This, some suggest, is because there are different types

of popularity.

Popularity founded on status as in being well known,

being able to bend others to his or her will, being ''cool'',

is different to being popular due to ''likability''.

Likability as in being kind, caring, supportive etc. etc.

Failing to recognize the difference between these two

different types of popularity can have long lasting consequences.

A person's status can suddenly change whereas a persons

likability often stays the same.

Status and likability does not only belong to our

school years, they also belong to our adult social hierarchy.

Popularity, in my view, is very much a part of the adult ''playground''

and it can affect productivity and innovation, atmosphere and

cooperation at a workplace. 

In between gigs(music) I used to work as a warehouse worker.

Sometimes picking orders, sometimes packing orders, sometimes

both. It was often very physically taxing, consisted of long hours and 

for me, most of the time exceedingly boring.

 To make the job a little less boring I would

try to find new and more efficient ways of doing my job.

This made me very popular with the bosses, but most unpopular

with my co-workers. ''Why are you working so hard? You

get paid either way'' my co-workers would tell me.

I would try to explain to them that it was just my way of

trying to make the time go faster, but my explanation was

never accepted. I decided that my worth as a human being

did not depend on others opinion of me, rather, it depended on

my opinion of me.

Basing our self-worth on being liked by others, or being ''popular'',

or having lots of followers on social media, can be risky.

A slip of the tongue, a momentarily mad rant, an overly sarcastic 

remark can potentially change our status or likability in the 

blink of an eye.

(Us humans are fickle, we are quick to judge but slow to forgive.)

Some people are popular because they are inherently kind, generous,

friendly, open-minded, funny, etc. etc., in short, being with

or around them makes us feel good.

Some people are popular for more superficial reasons such as

they are ''cool'', they are ''hot'', famous, infamous, wealthy,

have lots of followers, etc. etc.

Marilyn Monroe died alone in her home on August the fifth

1962 of a drug overdose. She was only 36 years old.

An icon and one of the most famous of all movie actresses, she

died alone. Being popular did not protect her from loneliness,

nay, her popularity perhaps was a contributing factor in

preventing her for forming stable, meaningful, and 

long lasting relationships.

''Seek not to be popular, rather seek to be good

and popularity will find you.''

(Citizen Z)

''It's much easier on the emotions when one sees

life as an experiment rather than a struggle for popularity''.

(Criss Jami)

''It's quite naive to believe that popularity is the remedy

for loneliness. Loneliness does not necessarily equal

physical solitude, it is the inability to be one self

and rightfully represented as oneself.''

(Criss Jami)

about the image: graphite on paper