Dwelling on the positive . . .

"If there be beauty in a world of ill,
A quiet valley where a church bell rings,
Where there is faith and love and little homes.,
Speak on these things."
~Edna Jaques

I noticed yesterday that during the day Todd has the news channel playing in the background most of the time . . . he may be reading, or ironing, or working on the computer . . . but the BBC news is always droning on in the background. I normally don't hear it, because I am at work, but I have a few days off right at the moment.

It was the same old drivel, over and over again, and most of it just horrible . . . . murders, and kilings, and nasty things happening here and happening there. There is value in knowing what's going on in the world to be sure . . . but just how many times do you need to hear it??? How soul destroying . . . I wasn't long in turning it off. I can understand totally the need for noise and company in an empty house, but surely there are better places to find it . . .



I started to think, what if someone started a news channel that had only good news on it . . . Wouldn't that be wonderful?? If all one had to listen to over and over again during the day, was all the nice little stories. Stories about heros and winners. Stories that praise good people and good deeds. Stories with hope. Uplifting news that lets you know that there is some good left in the world, and that not all is necessarily bad. A news channel about real people doing good things and living good and decent lives.

Oh undoubtedly, the news often has little pockets of just such stories, and when they do have one, the story is both uplifting and inspiring . . . but stories like that are few and far between. I cannot believe that, in this whole wide world, there are only a few and far between good things that happen each day that are newsworthy . . .



I started to do a search on the internet to see if there were any blogs out there that were purveyors of good news. I didn't find a lot, but I did find this one: Only Positive News It is chock full of positive news updates and inspiring stories from around the world. They claim their vision is to "Empower People for a Better World." They are dedicated to finding, celebrating and promoting people from all walks of life who are making a positive contribution and making this world a better place, the heros and heroines of every day life.

Then there's Ma, who I have been following for a long time now. Ma has a blog entitled, On The Bright Side. It's filled to the brim with lovely little quotes, stories and thoughts. A real smile starter for the day. In her own words: In a world that very often publishes only the dark side of things I felt that others would be encouraged to hear about 'the bright side'. I have found Ma to be a great source of daily inspiration in these past months. Thanks Ma!!

Indeed, you only have to go through my sidebar to find loads of links to people that I find inspirational and uplifting. No, it's not all bad news, there is plenty of good news left in the world, and it is right at your fingertips. Perhaps if we tuned out and turned off a little bit more, and started to dwell more on and seek out more the good . . . instead of the bad, life would be filled with just that much more joy.



And then I thought of the 13th article of faith of my church:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

That can't be bad. That would be a wonderful New Years Resolution wouldn't it? Would that everyone would choose to make it! Oh what a different world we would live in then . . .



I made a simple chili for us last night for out tea. I put both my knees out coming down the stairs later in the afternoon, and it didn't half hurt! I was not in the mood for anything too challenging or difficult after that!! This is a pretty basic chili recipe. You can up the heat by adding more chili powder or cayenne, or even a tin of chopped green chilies, or by using rotel tomates instead of the regular ones. Use this recipe as a canvas to paint your own picture!



*Chili Con Carne*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

My mom used to make chili con carne for my dad most Saturday nights when we got a bit older. She had discovered the recipe on the back of a tomato soup tin and it was pretty basic. But for my dad who had always insisted she use only salt and pepper to spice things, it was pretty bold! I have taken it a bit further and added my own delicious twist to my mother's basic recipe. Serve this hot in bowls over steamed rice and garnished with grated cheese. This also freezes very well.

2 TBS vegetable oil
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup mild chili powder
1 TBS ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt
1 tsp freeze dried oregano
2 beef bouillion cubes, crumbled
2 pounds extra lean ground beef
2 (15.5 ounce) tins of dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tin of condensed tomato soup (10 3/4 ounces)
2 soup tin of water
1 28-ounce tin of chopped tomatoes
1 28 ounce tin of tomato puree (passata)



Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions, red pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, oregano and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook stirring, until the vegetagles have softened. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute longer. Crumble in the ground beef and cook, stirring over medium high heat, until the beef is broken up and starting to brown. No pink should remain. Add the beans, soup, water, tomatoes, tomato puree and beef boullion cubes. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered for about 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally for another 45 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.

Suggested Garnishes - Diced avocado, sliced spring onions, chopped red onion, chopped coriander, sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced black olives.



A nice bowl of chili calls for a robust and delicious bread to mop it all up with. That's exactly what you'll find today over on The English Kitchen. Cheddar Cheese Bread.