Consistently, I discover how important it is for me to hear stories that bring a smile to my face, or surprise me with unexpected delight or compassion.  The other day, listening to a story on NPR about a deaf man who loved baseball, I was reminded of the importance of this kind of psychological and emotional food.  The man being interviewed became deaf when he was 10 years old, so he could speak fairly well.  He always loved baseball and had the opportunity to meet Babe Ruth when he was young, which was a highlight of his baseball experience. 

His son also loved baseball, so this man arranged for his son to meet his favorite player.  I can’t recall the name of the player, but the surprise in the story was this.  As the father talked to the baseball player to tell him that his son would love an autograph, the baseball player started to sign and asked him if he were deaf.  The father was astonished and delighted that the baseball player could sign and asked him where he learned how to do it.  The baseball player said he had grown up near a school for the deaf and had played with deaf children.  The father talked about how much this added to his respect for this player and how moved he was that his son thought of this man as a hero.

As I listened to the story, I thought about the synchronicity involved in bringing this particular baseball player and this particular father together to encounter each other in this way.  I’ll have more to say about these kinds of synchronistic experiences – which happen all the time – in future experiments.  For now, I want to emphasize the importance of hearing inspiring stories as a way to give ourselves good spiritual and psychological food.

And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to pay attention to positive stories that come your way.  Notice the impact they have on your quality of experience and perceptions.  You might notice, for instance, that hearing an uplifting or happy story affects how you perceive what comes your way that day, orienting you to look for what’s going right, or what’s delightful.  Inspiring stories are like fresh air.  We tend to feel better when we encounter them, and they tend to brighten our day.

Also, notice what happens if you intentionally seek out inspiring or delightful stories or interactions.   As I go around town with my ipod, I listen to podcasts that focus on what inspires me and fill me up spiritually, or that make me laugh and fill me with silly delight.  Whatever touches you and supports a sense of well-being, allow yourself to seek it out and make it a mainstay of your daily diet of what you take in from your environment. 

There is so much bad news all around us that we often have to be particularly conscious of where we focus our attention and what we take in, and this week’s experiment offers you an invitation to engage the process even more mindfully.  As with all the experiments, be sure to bring along curiosity as your constant companion and notice how you feel, in your psyche and your body, when you immerse yourself in good news, delightful and inspiring stories, and whatever other sources of positive input you have available in your daily life.