OyChicago blog

Image courtesy of Flickr user LawPrieR

Whenever I discuss the news with someone, one word seems to come up often: "depressing."

Regardless of what news site you read, each page refresh brings more troubling information, regarding everything from merciless killers to crooked politicians. Another day, another crime, misdeed or tragedy.

But that kind of sensationalistic coverage is far from an accurate representation of life, and I think it has negatively skewed the way we view the world and humanity in general. Sure, all those terrible things do really happen, but so do plenty of wonderful and inspirational things that are showcased nowhere nearly as often as the upsetting and depressing news.

I don't know about you – but that's not how I want to live my life. I don't want cynicism, mistrust and pessimism to dominate my world view, and I'm sure you don't either. So while we can't necessarily change the news or avoid reading the terrible stuff altogether, there is hope: by seeking out good, inspirational news.

Huffington Post recently established a "Good News" section specifically for the purpose of reminding people that good things do happen. In the beginning, it was mostly composed of adorable kitten/puppy videos, but it has really blossomed into a great place to find inspirational content, like the story of Marie Bell, a teacher who donated her kidney to a student's father.

Other great websites for uplifting news stories include Good News Network, Optimist World, Happy News and Gimondo. The titles may be corny, but I think that if you give them a try, you'll find that you feel a little bit better about the state of our world.

Finally, here's my feel-good video of the week: