Posted 3/28/01 Emphasize the positives: Sunday Night, by MaryHelen Swanson I should take my own advice on occasion, such as heeding the title of this column. It isnít easy to do though. For weeks now the nation has been bombarded with the word ěrecessionî as if the end of the world was coming. First, I believe itís a manmade concept created by fear and maybe even for someoneís personal gain. Second, media sources way beyond the scope of this weekly newspaper are feeding the frenzy, perhaps because news has been so unimpressive lately they believe it will perk up interest. What all of this has begun to create is a very negative world where every day people are looking for tragedy and economic disaster. They are equating the word recession with depression and that starts with D and so does despair. And that would be the natural end result if we were to let it take hold of our lives. An admired mentor of mine once wrote these words, ěIt is true that nations, like institutions and individuals, can have ups and downs. There are those who give up and always those who pick up the pieces and carry on. We might not be able to win an argument that we live in the best of times. One could make a long list of serious problems needing urgent attention. But all is not lost. A review of the 20th century reveals incredible progress in many fields. We could well be on the verge of one of the greatest periods the world has ever seen.î I say we should look at the freshness of our opportunities and great possibilities instead of following those who would begin to drag us down as we start the new millennium by crying recession. My mentor went on, ěTo a great degree, as individuals, we make our own universe. We cannot mend all the families in the world, but we can give more attention to our own and others nearby. We cannot eliminate all the violence, abuse, intolerance, hate and wrongdoing in the world, but we can manage our own affairs with scrupulous honesty, express our dissenting views civilly, have respect for the views of others and show kindness, generosity and love at every opportunity. We can be less quick to accuse, condemn, judge and demean people and institutions about which we have little first hand evidence.î Are we going to follow the would-be doomsday leaders over the cliff like lemmings, or are we going to take a positive stand and keep our country going in a healthy, prosperous direction? ěWe tend to respect and accept all the negatives we hear and brush off the positives as soft-headed, preachy or unrealistic,î my mentor said. He went on to add, ěOur lives will be richer and stronger if we emphasize the positives and we can feel rewarded that to some degree we are making a difference.î I thank Elmer L. Andersen for these good words. He wrote them in 1994. It seems though, seven years later, we still havenít conquered this thing called despair. I donít know about you, but life today, even with its heartaches and setbacks, is still pretty good. Donít let it turn sour by getting caught up in the negativism of the word ěrecession.î It isnít the end of the world. ©Post Review