I'm Thinking About the Doorbell, When You Gonna' Ring It? When You Gonna' Ring It?

Is patience near the bottom of your inventory of virtues today? Is anxiety a frequent bed-partner? Do you have a love-hate relationship with the bad-news bears of the news media?

Today, it's a real trick to be able to stay informed in the world while maintaining a steady, comfortable course in your approach to life. I suppose that's why, as long as the world continues to turn like a hand-cranked eggbeater in a bowl of crunchy peanut butter, there are always going to be the popular gurus of postivity, counselors to the stars, head doctors for the lost.

Whatever your choice for sources of news and entertainment (isn't the distinction between the two practically nil today?), unless you've grown some pretty thick callouses around your soul, you're going to sometimes get bummed about humanity's present state and our prospects for the future.

Your Mental Stability

So on the one hand, let's say that the latest news has got you down. Is that necessarily a bad thing?

In my quest to become the latest revered guru of gaga, I'd like to assure you that what you are feeling is a good thing. For one, it indicates that you have not allowed your innocent inner child to be totally embedded in emotional scar tissue. If you are angered by the latest outrage emblazoned across the mainpage of Drudge, then you are not yet lost. Congratulations!

Now some more good news ... fact is, you can use that energy boiling through you.

Or would it perhaps be a measure of fear you are dealing with--angst for the possibility of imminent doom for tomorrow or next week, or next year? No less useful, that emotion be, if put to practical task.

Frustration, anger, fear, hopelessness ...

The marvelous thing is, if properly utilized and applied, the emotional energy stirred up by the negative polarities bouncing haphazardly across our reality can ultimately be converted into good vibrations.

I'm OK You're OK

Write this down. I'm about to share the secret to dispelling all that discontent in your life.

Really. It works for me and I know that it works for many others as well. And it doesn't involve paying stratospheric hourly rates for eggheaded theoretical advice or seeking a better perspective through pharmaceuticals.

The solution is simple. Start putting aside a little extra money, storing some extra food, and judiciously purchasing practical products that you know would help you get through times that could get as dark as your deepest fears. Some of us call it "prepping." It's wise, it's common sense, and now you know--it's therapeutic too.

Yep, take it a step at a time, getting into a prudent rythym with your new self-treatment. As you systematically build your strategic reserves, and tool up for potential catastrophe, you'll come to realize that there isn't anything better out there for your peace of mind.

Best news of all ... there IS a final destination in your journey to self-help. At some point, you're going to wake up and say, I've done all I can do. I am prepared for whatever the world will hurl at me. And I feel good.

I can honestly say, I am there now. I am as prepared as I can afford to be and care to be. I've reached my line of demarcation marking the high ground between the lands of Despair and Overkill. The journey is worth it because the resulting peace of mind allows me to watch the news and read the papers without feeling personally threatened.

The Deal with the Blog Headline?

I happened to hear a new song by the artists known as The White Stripes. I can't say that i keep up with contemporary music, as there just isn't much out there to suit my tastes today. However, this song got into my brain and has stayed there. If you've heard it, you probably know what I mean.

As the song was cycling through my consciousness early today, it dawned on me that the song could be a metaphor for how some folks feel about their world--and the sense of disappointment and cynicism they seem to embrace as if that is all they have.

We all face some basic choices as to how we deal with things in a world of uncertainty and bad news. Many out there quite simply deny to themselves that anything bad will ever deter them personally from their pursuit of happiness ... or that as a society, things could suddenly take a turn for the worse. Yet there are also a great many who take what may be a more cerebral road and acknowledge the risk of setbacks and danger every new day presents.

There are of course gradients between the extremes, but in the end, most of us who at least recognize risk in the big picture must choose either to become devoured by the anxiety or to constructively, positively prepare in order to combat the uncertainty.

I clearly receommend preparing positively to become strong and comfortable. The alternative is to keep nervously thinking about the doorbell ... when they gonna ring it, when they gonna ring it?