Balance Is Important In One's Life.
Posted: Thursday, October 16, 2008
by Mike Fak
http://mikefak.com
Every morning when I open the e-mail board, there are at least a half-dozen letters to the editor or op/ed requests from people all over the country, sometimes, more than a dozen. They are often from angry people and in some cases they make little or no sense. Often they are so one sided, either liberal or conservative that I wonder with that much hate for others how they can have an enjoyable life.
It seems though that for some, the problems are all-encompassing and totally control their lives and I don't think that is healthy.
I imagine I am lucky in my job to see both sides of life. Yes, I have had to cover some sad and ugly moments for the sake of information. A young man who drowned in a swollen creek was one. A young woman with two babies suffering the effects of ALS to name another. But I have had a chance to see and cover and edit other stories, stories that make me smile or laugh or in many cases be proud of us and our resilience.
I use my radio show for balance. I keep the week's "Odd and Extraordinary" goofy news that comes through the wire service all week and it always brings laughs. We also talk about the real problems we face as a city, a state, and as a country and that keeps me from becoming milquetoast as I go about my job of being in the news business.
Now I am very angry at our government and at major oil and at utilities. In fact, I have never been angrier in my life. But then I go talk to a bunch of high school kids who are working their butts off on a project and I see that everything isn't as bad or as ugly as I thought it was that morning.
I have had a rough year what with sewer problems and early heating bills just killing my budget. I have had to put off needed repairs to the house and I get angry when I listen to two presidential candidates who tell me they feel my pain when they have no idea what it is like to decide which bill gets paid first and who can wait.
But then I spend a weekend covering the high school play and the local college play and I go to a church festival where everyone is enjoying the day and each other and I get my fulcrum back to center.
I am fortunate that is my writing clients I have a good balance. Some of their stories are filled with pain and suffering. But others are cheerful and redeeming stories of overcoming events or afflictions and getting back off the ground.
I use Searchwarp to try and bring some humor into parts of my life that actually could be considered as minor debacles. Yes, at the time they made me angry or upset so I take those feelings and I try as best I can to make fun of them rather than let them eat away at me. Of course that doesn't always work. It does do more good however than just sitting there building up anger and resentment and asking why it is always me when of course it is always us.
Yes, I have been blessed to see the balance in this world. It is through no great trait on my part. I have been fortunate enough to have outside influences actually help me regain my perspective. Without them I would be nothing more than a crabby old man all the time rather than a crabby old man half the time.
I recommend to all of you to never slack your temper as you demand the changes that we deserve in this country. I recommend that you keep fighting personally with your words and your writings and your actions to help make the changes that portion of your world deserve. But I recommend to all that you also find that person or church or organization that can help keep you from slipping into a perdition that will keep you from seeing that although much is wrong there is still much that is good about us and this country.
Sometimes you have to seek that balance. Otherwise you just become another angry person who becomes consumed by the things that don't deserve the right to do so.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Hi Mike.Very good advice. It is all to easy to look only at the bad and then it gets really hard to remember the good. Thanks.DianneThanks Dianne. Like I said, I'm lucky. People show me that everything isn't wrong and I appreciate their help more than they can appreciate my giving them their moment in a publication. Mike
Mike, a timely and timeless message, thank you! I honestly know firsthand about what you've written and the recommendations are full on. I sit in at a TV station a few hours each week taking calls for prayer. The requests heard open my eyes and shut my mouth to Avis' problems. I realize I haven't any real problems that are life-threatening or shattering. I'm blessed! This article should hit AP News. It's perspective-shaping which is what all of us could use. Thanks again for excellent writing and your willingness to share openly from your heart. It's appreciated. Take special care.A lot of knid words to thank you for Avis.I'm sort of surprised by the readership on this simple piece. The headline isn't engrossing nor the message anything that isn't there to see if we take a moment...but I guess we all need someone to adjust the binoculars from time to time to get our focus clear.As far as the AP. My days of toiling in the giant cauldron are over. Besides I'm having too much fun helping bring a small town neighborhood newspaper back for a small town .MikeYou're welcome, Mike. Yes, we need someone to adjust our binoculars from time to time but your articles tend to hit pressure points. That's why the readership is high. Anyone striving to live a life of simplicity seeks a "simple piece." The title said it best. We're in agreement with you and want to discover how to find that balance. You told us! It's as simple as that! *smiling*
I understand about those days being over. I'm happy for you that you are "having too much fun . . . helping. . . " You're a blessed man and you know it!Well then Avis I'm glad I could help us, including myself, see the focus in life sometimes needs to be adjusted and how easy it sometimes can be. Perhaps then you will like the story I will be submitting later today as it shows what people can do when they work together.
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