Thrill Me

[This is what appeared in yo TOP SORIES
Advertisement Schools Aided by Stimulus Money Still Facing Cuts By SAM DILLON In some districts with overwhelming deficits, federal aid has failed to prevent extensive school layoffs, leading to even more crowded classes and educators’ teaching unfamiliar grade levels. Lush Land Dries Up, Withering Kenya’s Hopes By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN A devastating drought is sweeping across Kenya, imperiling agriculture and tourism as well as spawning ethnic conflict in the hinterland. NEWS ANALYSIS Crux of Afghan Debate: Will More Troops Curb Terror? By ERIC SCHMITT and SCOTT SHANE Some counterterrorism experts say alternatives to a troop buildup include drone strikes, commando raids and enlisting Afghan warlords in the fight against Al Qaeda.
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QUOTATION OF THE DAY
“This positions us as a grand city where grand things happen.” ALEJANDRO ROJAS DÍAZ, Mexico City’s tourism secretary, who organized an event at which 12,937 people danced to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in pursuit of a world record

This is what appeared in your inbox this morning if you get the NY Times daily headlines. Clearly, the first three headlines rank pretty high on the depressing news scale. I’m sure this was just reporters dutifully reporting the facts, but I can’t help thinking it’s a bit of bummer that this is what we all have to look at the first Tuesday after Labor Day, at the official start of Fall. But, as someone said to me last night, September is a great time for existential dread.

Still, if you keep reading beyond the headlines and get to the quote of the day, things turn out not to be totally hopeless. Rather, there’s a silver lining in this ominous cloud of poverty, drought and war, and his name is Michael Jackson.

Of course, it’s not even Michael Jackson that’s the real silver lining. The silver lining is thousands of crazy people getting together to dance and break a meaningless world record. Devotion to meaningless records is a huge part of what makes us human beings, and the fact that people continue to do it is a sign that despite how violently crappy the world seems to be right now, We (the race) are still giving Life our best college try. It’s why sporting headlines are as moving as regular headlines. It’s why people hate the Yankees. Because you need to celebrate the goals you can achieve, even when other things you need are unavailable to you.

But seriously, it reminds me of something my wonderful yoga teacher, Julie Dohrman warned us to be aware of last week in class. She said that as September comes, we all set intentions for ourselves that have to do with what we lack. (School funding, rain, peace in the Middle East) Especially in New York, there is a huge emphasis on getting whatever is missing from your life.

However, we’re doing ourselves a great dis-service if we don’t think about what we already have. This sounds kind of cheezy at first, but it’s actually quite practical. Basically, it’s all about the power of suggestion. If you make it seem awesome to give things to You (giving stuff to me is soo fun, I even give stuff to myself!) then other people will eventually want to give stuff to you. Or Julie put it more eloquently, “If you come from a place of abundance, you’ll glow.”

And this doesn’t mean forgetting about all the stuff you don’t have. But Global Economic Crisis is no reason not to have a “grand” time dancing to Thriller while you wait. In fact, it’s even more of a reason to dance. Because, face it: you’re unemployed. What else do you really have to do?