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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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DIRE PREDICTIONS
When I listen to news reports continuously, it is easy to become overwhelmed by dire predictions. By the time I reach retirement, Social Security will not exist. If I buy brand name medications in Canada at cheaper prices, I may die because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not tested them. Unless we change our tax laws immediately, economic collapse is unavoidable. The list is endless. Ralph Hodgson, a British poet, warned, "The handwriting on the wall may be a forgery." It is not difficult to recognize some of these forgeries in hindsight. Remember all those predictions about the Y2K computer bug at our most recent millennium? In fact, the world was forecasted to end at almost every century change in recorded history. What some prognosticators lack in logic and facts they make up for in emotional appeals and declarations of certainty. Still, with "experts" on both sides presenting different opinions, it becomes difficult to know where the truth of the situation lies. So what does one do when faced with so many dire predictions? Personally, I try to adopt the attitude of MAD magazine's Alfred E. Newman whose standard retort is, "What, me worry?" Continuing to fret resolves nothing. Of course I can't stop worrying all at once. When my head is as full as an overflowing tea cup, I have to empty it. Sometimes it is silence that gives me relief. Other times it is pouring the contents of my head into my journal that allows me to make sense of the information. Then, in the spirit of Reinhold Neibuhr's prayer, I work to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, look for the courage to change the things which should be changed, and seek the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
© 2005 David Bentley David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world. You may contact him at 360.378.8436 by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com |
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