DEPRESSED BY DAILY NEWS?

Because I travel so much I tend to read a lot of newspapers and keep in close touch with the news because it is important to be informed about the countries I visit. I am sure we all see the news on television or on line in some form or other.

The news coming from all parts of the globe is pretty depressing isn't it? Maybe this isn't a new debate, but the old argument that 'bad news sells newspapers" has translated today to include all forms of media and much of the information we are being fed daily is deeply distressing.

No wonder people get depressed - Looking at this week's news: 
"Co-pilot crashed his plane into a mountain in the Alps killing 140 people including 2 babies"
"ISIS takes stranglehold on Nigeria as Boko Haram pledges allegiance" 
"Boy of 12 smuggled into the UK by gang to sell his body parts"
"Putin sending bombers"
"Indian rapist lynched by mob"
"ISIS killing people in Syria with dreadful photos"
"Criminal gangs have more than 13,000 slaves in the UK"
"Orang-utan's facing extinction in Sumatra"
" 5 people killed by extremists in restaurant in Mali"

So depressing and nightmarish!!! Of course, these terrible tragedies need to be reported but where are the happy stories?

It doesn't matter what country you live in - news is global now and we receive it morning, noon and night - often within minutes of incidents happening. 

Being bombarded by this constant flow of depressing and often very frightening news - how are we all supposed to deal with it? It seems to many of us that the human race is falling into a very dark age of violence and appalling ignorance, where people's minds are totally out of control - often believing in the most vicious doctrine. However, there are millions of wonderful things happening in our world day in and day out - but we never see it or learn about from the media.

As the Dalai Lama once said: "Imagine looking down at our world from outer space and seeing a candle light for every loving and kind thought. We would see billions of candle lights - mother and fathers loving thoughts for their new baby and children - kindness of people helping one another and so forth".

There are marvellous and inspiring things happening in our lives every minute of the day and I believe that we have to start to appreciate the wonder of our lives and to begin a revolution in the way news is presented. Yes, of course,we have to be informed of what is happening today - we cannot afford to live in a "bubble of ignorance" with our heads in the sand as to what is happening - but, we also have to teach those that are following such a terrible, violent and ignorant path that there is wonder in life and it is to be cherished not destroyed due to some warped and very sick ideology.

ISIS and other similar organisations use violence to terrify people and to get their sick message to the world and they largely succeed because the media blast it across the airwaves for all to see. We have to find a balance to stop this - the world's media surely has a responsibility to also tell the world of its wonders and about happy and beautiful events that happen daily - why does violence seem to win all the time with regards to media coverage? 

It is depressing but we must keep ourselves centred and focussed on the things that really matter in our everyday lives - if we can get the message across that COMPASSION, CARING, LOVING, HEALING, KINDNESS and HAPPINESS are the treasures of our life.

Maybe then the young men and women that flock to join these terrorist organisations like ISIS because they are either bored, or influenced by friends and others, or more likely persuaded by Iman's peddling a warped Islamic ideology that convinces them that this violent path will bring them some kind of salvation and happiness when they die in the afterlife, or looking for a place in the world, feeling rejected by their own society, unemployment and so forth can follow a very different path 

There are many reasons why people want to belong to something - but they have to be taught that VIOLENCE, HATRED, KILLING, TORTURE, IGNORANCE - MY IDEOLOGY IS RIGHT AND ALL OF YOU ARE WRONG, ANGER - can only bring horror and dreadful suffering not only to the people they are subjecting this to - BUT TO THEMSELVES AS WELL.

"We reap what we sow" - "Cause and effect" - "We are what we think" - "Karmic results of our actions" - what these people do not understand is that if we hurt someone or kill any living person or creature we will suffer for it in our lives and when we die. The way that organisations such as ISIS, Al-Quaeda, Boko Haram and many others twist, change and abuse the teachings of the Koran and feed young people a litany of hate is one of the saddest and deeply worrying situations we are facing today.

It seems that IGNORANCE is winning and we must stop it NOW

There is so much to be HAPPY ABOUT in this extraordinary and amazing world we live in. The wonder of childbirth - the wonder of flowers, trees, countryside and nature's garden of life - that so many of us are blessed with - the wonder of a new life in any form - the love of a mother and father for their child - the glory of a beautiful Butterfly - the joy of simply breathing and being there in the moment - a lovely sunny day - a walk in the park - so many gifts of life that we just accept without thinking of them at all. Yes, there are many people in this world that live in terrible poverty and circumstances that are appalling - we must do everything we can to help them - However, it all has to begin with YOU and the way you think and what you do.

If a child is brought up to meditate and value the wonder that is life and what is around us and with the knowledge that Compassion, Love and Kindness bring Happiness to them and everyone they meet - our world would be very different.

Life does't have to be miserable - we create this misery ourselves. You can't go through life blaming others for your circumstances - we all face problems sometimes terrible ones - yes these problems can vary massively - abuse at home, poverty, loneliness, alcoholism, drug abuse, unemployment, homelessness are just some of the daunting problems people face - but you can get out of these situations - everyone one of us can make a difference if we care and help one another - I am not naive enough to say this is easy - if you are living in a world of violence and horror you can't expect to turn everything around overnight - but we all need to help those in distress - to try and bring some happiness and hope to their lives. 

I am digressing from the original subject - but it is all part of the same story - the media today must change the way news is presented - if these violent acts do not get the global news attention maybe these organisations will be forced to change their actions -  they know that the world's press will report these horror stories in the headlines and therefore, they get more and more outrageous. If they don't get the headlines they crave for, maybe a seismic change can be achieved - surely it is worth trying? 

If the media starts to tell loving and heart warming stories as well as the nightmares maybe this will inspire young people to re-think their lives and what they can achieve - instead of feeding them a litany of violence on the air waves.

Please remember - every one of our actions has its cause and effect - if you are violent -   violence and suffering will come to you - if you are kind and loving  - happiness will be your reward - None of us can escape the results of our actions. 

Don't become overwhelmed by the news each day - maybe limit the amount of time you spend watching TV or glued to your computer or mobile phone - how many times do you see people, especially youngsters avidly glued to their phones - totally ignoring their environment and everything around them - happiness can come from appreciating a beautiful flower or a kind action - I am not convinced much happiness will come from a mobile phone apart from a momentary glimpse of amusement!!

Surely, life is about a balance and if you are getting more and more depressed by the world's news that is bombarding you daily - then cut the supply somewhat and begin to cherish everything around you - of course, this won't immediately change the world and we all need to be aware of what is happening so that we can protect and defend our precious liberty and happiness - but we don't have to subject ourselves hourly to the maelstrom of misery that pounds across the airwaves.

The more we concentrate on our human mantra that love, compassion and kindness bring immense happiness to ourselves, our families and everyone you come into contact with - then life can change for the good. If we follow the path of hatred, violence, killing and ignorance then only incredible suffering will come to you - who wants this? Nobody wants this do they?

Thank you for reading
Peter

WHITNEY HOUSTON WAS VERY SPECIAL

WHITNEY HOUSTON WAS VERY SPECIAL

I was privileged to work with Whitney Houston twice and whilst I certainly do not imply that I knew her well - I found her to be a very lovely person and a fine artist. What happened to Whitney is such an appalling tragedy - what a waste of a life - a waste of an extraordinary powerful and yet angelic voice - the loss of a mother and a truly decent and kind person. 

I was approached by an old colleague and personal friend Jillie Bushell, who runs her own successful event business to try to book and contract Whitney for a major event to be held in Barcelona for Toyota and the launch of a new super car. Booking major stars for clients is one of our specialities and it happened that I knew her agent in Los Angeles who was working for the world famous agency William Morris.

After fairly lengthy negotiations we contracted Whitney, her musicians and singers  to perform for two nights and to fly from Los Angeles to Barcelona where this major event was to be held. I was thrilled to have secured this great artist, but will admit that I was inwardly concerned to make sure there wouldn't be any problems.

Of course, I had read about her drug and home problems and yet whenever I listened to that incredible voice, I found it hard to relate that marvellous singing to the stories that were prevalent at that time.

The venue was a massive exhibition centre in the heart of Barcelona and a big stage was built for the artist and around us there were tables for the guests - huge screens for the presentations - cars spinning on specially built turntables and so forth - all the things that you would expect from a multi national corporation like Toyota.

We were all pretty tense as the days crept closer to the first of the two event days - we heard that Whitney had boarded the plane to Paris where she would stay one night and then fly into Barcelona - so far so good. The musicians, singers and technical crews had all arrived - the stage was built, sound and lighting systems installed - all the back-line instrumentation had been brought in - drum kit, cymbals, timbales, keyboards, guitar and bass guitar amplifiers - specialist microphones - you name it - they were all there and waiting for lift off!

The day of the first show arrived and with baited breathe we waited - and waited - and waited - but no Whitney!!! She had apparently been taken ill during the night and felt she couldn't fly to Barcelona. Well you can imagine the scene back at the ranch - senior Toyota executives were going ballistic - Jillie Bushell and her team were trying to keep the lid on everything and I was trying everything I could to get Whitney on that damned plane. No such luck - Whitney did not leave Paris that night and we had to tell Toyota that she wasn't well enough to travel to perform. Disaster - a massive international  car launch - thousands of executives flown info the occasion and no Star Artist! Somehow we got through the evening, but it wasn't easy...

I was on the phone to Paris very early the next morning and by mid morning thank goodness - with huge relief, Whitney and her family and personal team were on the plane....They landed and we whisked them through to the waiting limousines and off to the hotel - PHEW!

Whitney was friendly and her mother Cissy Houston was also there - I was trying to remember whether her aunt Dionne Warwick was there, but I don't think so. Things were moving very quickly - rehearsals and sound check on stage and we were quickly into the evening event. Whitney received a tumultuous reception and gave a good fast moving show, BUT those gorgeous high notes that we were all waiting for, especially on "I will always love you" were not there - Bless her, Whitney did her very best and it was good - but the joy of that extraordinary voice that we all loved so much had largely gone, at least in the top range.

I must confess I felt a wide range of emotions as I watched and later spoke with Whitney - she had a beautiful aura about her - I felt kindness and gentleness, but also a strange aloofness - almost as though she wasn't really there - but, looking at everything from a great height. I am not sure I am expressing myself very well - one thing I do know is that I felt deeply honoured to be in her presence and that I wanted to surround her with love and compassion. That last statement must sound a bit odd especially as some artists you just want to run a mile from them - but Whitney was (I felt) vulnerable, maybe that is the word I was looking for.

Whitney left and we all sighed huge sighs of relief - Jillie Bushell and her team had done a great job (as always) and I felt I had done a good job too.

This photo of Whitney was taken on stage during the second show that I contracted and worked on in 2008 - this was for the Caudwell Children's Trust "Butterfly Ball" - a wonderful charity that helps disabled children and their families - this show took place at a venue in Battersea Park in London - and what a night it was! Whitney was on great form - she looked happy and genuinely pleased to be there. The show was similar to the one she performed in Barcelona - the songs were great - the energy and fun was there - but we were still missing those startling high notes, that earlier in her career would have taken the roof off the venue.

I find it hard to think of that ebullient and happy Whitney, with the image of her passing at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills in California on February 11, 2012. Found in a bath, drowned with heart failure and with cocaine and other drugs in her body - Whitney, dear Whitney, be at peace now - we read of drugs and Bobby Brown her husband - we read all kinds of stories and now we learned of the awful news regarding her daughter found in a similar state - how can these things happen?

It is difficult to rationalise any of this - the drug route is a tortuous one and one that has destroyed the lives of many an artist's and their careers. Is it the pressure of fame and of always having to deliver night after night on stage? Is it the temporary highs and low's that inevitably affect an artist at the height of their fame?  - Adulation; Wealth; Doubt; Worry; Will I be good enough tonight? These pressures can be enormous.

I don't know why Whitney Houston has left us - I do know she gave us great joy and happiness - the Guiness Book of Records cites her as the most awarded female artist of all time. She is one of pop music's best selling artists ever - An estimated 170 to 200 million records sold. Seven No.1 chart singles in Billboard's Hot 100. "I will always love you" is the best selling track by a women in music history.

Thank you for your music Whitney - I feel honoured to have met you and worked with you. RIP - May you be at peace

Thanks for reading
Peter