Editorial: Eventually the media’s current narrative for society will become obsolete. For 20 years now, Positive News has been building a new one
Like all water travels to converge at the sea, all words flow into stories. Our conversations, songs, TV programmes, advertising and journalism all form the stories that create our shared sense of reality.
So what’s the story with mindfulness? Why is the practice of being fully present and aware becoming so popular?
Perhaps one reason is that “people are waking up,” as the woman who founded Positive News 20 years ago, Shauna Crockett-Burrows, liked to put it. Beneath the narrative of the status quo, a large-scale shift is occurring in people’s values. Two decades ago, this publication began reporting the manifestations of this.
Eventually society’s current narrative will become obsolete. You’re looking at a new one. It is one where our country is – despite some appearances – becoming more peaceful and tolerant, where local economies are being reinvented, where innovations are benefiting people’s health. It’s a world where a president gives 90% of his salary to charity, where citizens are redesigning their nation to be sustainable for generations to come, and where people are giving their time and energy to support those in conflict zones.
This is not the only version of reality, and the difficulties faced by many are severe. But do you recognise strands of these positive stories in your own life? Do you feel that shift within yourself?
If we want a world free of violence, then we need a world where individually, we are at peace. How do we make our lives an embodiment of peace? We need stories of peace that we can all become part of.
People regularly tell me that they avoid the mainstream news now because it is so negative. It is only a matter of time before the media has to change; before the story changes.
In this, Positive News’ 20th year, we’ve launched a reader survey giving you a chance not only to win some great prizes, but to help shape the future of this publication. It’s your opportunity to create the next chapter of Positive News’ story, and to help us bring that vision of a better future to the wider world. I look forward to hearing your views.
