Good News! 6 Positive News Stories That Deserve More Attention
Your Antidote to the Dreary Drip of Negative News
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The year is barely six weeks old, and we’ve already had a year’s worth of bad news: volcanos, tornados, tsunamis, blizzards, pandemics. Even the first open warfare in Europe in years seems to be imminent. Is there any good news out there?
Yes!
I recently put out a call over social media for good news stories that have been under-covered. I received more than a bouquet full. Reading through the submissions got me through a recent bitter cold weekend.
And no wonder. Good news is good for you! As Lena Brydon at the University College London and colleagues found, good news reduces stress. It’s good for your heart, Rosalba Hernandez of the University of Illinois found. It improves your relationships, Sanjay Srivastava of the University of Oregon found. (Another bit of good news: The impressive diversity of goodness researchers!)
So here, in the face of a tidal wave of bad news, are six (check that, seven) good news stories to remind us all that spring is on the way. After reading these, please recommend your own good news stories in the comment section for another roundup soon.
1. Bleached Coral Reefs Still Support Life
Coral reefs have been a font of bad news stories for years, with surging death rates and bleaching from rising sea temperatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association estimates that between 2014 and 2017, 75 percent of the planet’s tropical reefs were put under heat stress, which triggered bleaching.
But scientists from Lancaster University studying reefs in Seychelles recently reported in the journal One Earth that they had found some surprising good news: Even bleached reefs produce enough chemicals for healthy wildlife. In fact, fish caught on reefs that have suffered bleaching contain higher zinc levels and comparable levels of omega-3.
2. First Woman of Color Completes Solo Trip Across South Pole
I love this story. Preet Chandi, an English Sikh Army officer, made history last month as the first woman of color to finish a solo expedition across the South Pole. Her 40-mile trek began in November and took 40 days.
She wrote on Instagram:
This expedition was always about so much more than me. I want to encourage people to push their boundaries and to believe in themselves, and I want you to be able to do it without being labelled a rebel. I have been told no on many occasions and told to “just do the normal thing”, but we create our own normal. You are capable of anything you want. No-matter where you are from or where your start line is, everybody starts somewhere. I don’t want to just break the glass ceiling, I want to smash it into a million pieces.
3. Food People Are Good People
More than a few wars in history have been started over food, but these days, food people seem determined to be the leading edge of peacemakers. Two readers of The Nonlinear Life shared these upbeat stories.
Nana’s Southern Kitchen in the Seattle area gave out 1,200 free meals at two locations over the holidays, supporting families, those struggling with food insecurity, and those without homes. “It was a beautiful event,” Todd Minor, the owner of the restaurants, told the Kent Reporter. “It’s based on giving back to the community. It’s a meaningful deposit to the community, not just a withdrawal.”
In Australia, the FareGo food truck converted itself into a social enterprise that employs refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced persons. With the international backround of the new workers, the menu became more international as well. "The range of food which we have presented to us is fantastic,” one customer told ABC News. "Because of their Middle Eastern origins, they have things like kofta balls, gozleme, Iraqi cigars, and curries alongside the usual fare of toasted cheese and pies and pasties.
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, has quietly turned itself into one of the greenest cities in Europe and pledged to become carbon-neutral over the next generation. Efforts included a mammoth commitment to public parks—10 times as many as Paris—and an 8-mile walkway that has proved a haven for local bees. As Mayor Mihhail Kolvart told EuroNews.green, “The time has passed when the protection of nature and the progress of people are opposites – we have learned to associate innovation and development with a sustainable economy and green thinking.”
Another reader shared this touching story involving a nurse, a patient, and a long-lost friendship from another land. “It’s a Hallmark movie,” said one participant. Read the original account in the he Warwick Advertiser, which covers the Hudson Valley.
And if all these stories don’t have you singing in your seat, then check out this one that will have you screaming in your backyard. A group of mothers in Massachusetts met this month for their second primal scream session—coats, gloves, mittens, standing in the middle of a football field, screaming at the top of their lungs. As GMA reported, attendance doubled since their last session!
With a little luck, Screaming Moms could quickly outpace Squid Games as the signature event of our times.
I hope this Good News Bulletin brings a smile to your frace. Please add your undercovered good news stories in the comment section below and stay tuned for our next roundup on The Nonlinear Life.
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Thanks for reading The Nonlinear Life. Please help us grow the community by subscribing, sharing, and commenting below. Also, you can learn more about me, read my introductory post, or scroll through my other posts.
You might enjoy reading these posts:
Scrap Date Night: The Surprising Way to Improve Your Relationship
The Super Bowl Is Dying. Why That’s Bad for America.
This American Skier Won 5 Gold Medals. He Can't Use His Legs.
Or these books: Life Is in the Transitions, The Secrets of Happy Families, and Council of Dads.
Or, you can contact me directly.
