What do you think about? What messages are you receiving on a daily basis colouring your perceptions and capturing your attention? What outside sources are you exposed to regularly influencing the way you think about yourself, the people around you and the world itself?

Have you given this much thought lately? Maybe you should.

One of the fundamental principles of manifestation is to always accentuate the positive. Focus on what you want, not what you don't want. I realize this is easier said than done, especially when you are being sabotaged, without even being aware of it, practically every moment of every day, simply by getting on with your day and doing what you always do. Watching the TV news, reading the paper, listening to the radio on the way to and from work, chatting with your co-workers, family and friends about what you've seen, read and heard.

I have major issues with the media, in all its varying forms. It is a huge, virtually inescapable influence in all of our lives, constantly bombarding us with images and information we absorb largely indiscriminately, oftentimes unconsciously, and without a lot of thought as to how insidiously what we take in, in the guise of 'being informed' is fostering within us a raft of fears and burdening concerns, and actually using us to create a whole lot more of 'what we don't want'.

Several years ago I became terribly upset upon hearing a news item. I don't remember the exact details, only it involved children somewhere on the other side of the world dying in an awful accident. For several days, this tragedy consumed my thoughts. I couldn't get it out of my head. All I could think about was these poor, innocent babies. I wept for them and ached for their families. I was dreadfully depressed, weepy, scared and confused. I just felt so badly, not to mention helpless, for I realized all my concern and empathy was essentially pointless; the hard reality was as much as I felt for the families and wanted to help and reach out to them, there was nothing I could do. I couldn't change what had happened, I couldn't comfort the afflicted; this was something beyond my power to affect in any way.

And to be honest, that part of the equation was what was messing me up the most, knowing I couldn't do anything to make it better – not for people so far from me, people I would never meet. This was all happening half a world away, too distant for me to make a difference in this situation, as much as I wanted to, and knowing that hurt almost as much as learning about the original tragedy.

Now caring is not a bad thing, neither is feeling compassion for those who have suffered a misfortune, no matter where they happen to be. However, when I thought about what a profound impact simply learning about this had had on me, I started asking myself some hard questions.

Where did all that caring get me? Did I really, really need to know about this? Did learning about it, and getting all bummed out over it, was this a good thing for me? Was 'being informed' worth several days of depression? (Bearing in mind we're talking about one news item here.) Ultimately, did 'being informed' several children died in some obscure corner of the world add anything to the quality of my life over the past few days?

For me, the answers to those questions was: profoundly emotionally screwed up, no, no, no and most emphatically – no! However, it was not a completely negative experience; the upshot of all this angst was it made me think, after which I came to a very important decision and formulated a personal resolve that's brought me all the way from there to these words I'm typing right now.

I decided I didn't need to get messed up on a regular basis through learning about things I couldn't control or realistically affect. I didn't need the nightly news and the paper 'informing me' of stuff I never dreamt I'd need to be concerned about and depositing a daily dose of fear and paranoia in my psyche. I accepted there were things happening all over the world I could not change, but recognized for me personally, being constantly reminded about it and subsequently made to feel bad about it was a waste of energy and a subtle but insidious soul-destroyer.

All by myself, I can't save or change the world. It's just too darned big. And if you look at the problem that way, one little person trying to rehabilitate the whole danged marble, it's way too overwhelming. Where the hell do you start, what the heck do you do, oh my God, there's just so much that's oh, so wrong, oh wait, I feel a panic attack coming on….

Conceding defeat and crawling under the bed came to mind. And then I took a step back and scaled things down a tad. I can't change the entire world, but I can make a fair dint in my particular piece of it. That day I resolved to stop wasting energy worrying about things going on in the larger vaster world I cannot change, and instead focus my passion, caring and concern on the people and events within my immediate sphere of influence. It's all I can realistically do, but it's the best thing I can do. Change the things you can change, let go of the ones you can't. Simple, I know, but then the best things usually are.

So, I don't watch the news any more, and I gotta tell you, I'm much happier for it. Yeah, occasionally things are so big they can't help but slip by the radar, but I keep it all in perspective and stay determined in my resolve to do the best I can for the people I do have the power to help, my loved ones and those I encounter, however briefly, during the course of my day. You never know when you can make a difference; even a casual conversation can have a profound effect on another person's life. A kind word here, a small favour there can make an indelible impression in even a stranger's soul and inspire in ways you may never find out about. But the fact remains, if you get up in the morning, and determine to do good, in every way you can, you will, and you will make a difference. You don't need to know how; you just have to get up, go out there and do it.

Just think; if every single one of us did just that, focused on our own little piece of the world and making it just a little bit better, every single day, wow, what an incredible world we'd build, and it wouldn't take very long.

No huge, heroic efforts, no revolution, no chaos, no cataclysmic change, no mass hysteria, just quiet, gentle, kindness, passing with love from one hand to another. All of it creating a rising tide of love and evolution washing away all the pain, fear, hunger, deprivation and greed and strife, creating peace, happiness and abundance for all.

Now that would be something way cool to manifest, don't you think. What do you say, want to help? I'm good, but even I can't do this one on my own.

We're all in this together, we just have to buckle down and do it. One kindness at a time.

Give someone a hug, and then give yourself a hand.

Phoenix