Good news by the numbers

How about a little good news?

Doubters notwithstanding, there is enough to fill even the largest of newspapers - yes, even daily. The truth is most don't actively seek it, and most who do quickly forget. Good news is comforting, yet it doesn't hold our attention as tenaciously as worries.

If humans could manage to better focus on that half-full part of the glass, to hang onto the hope and simple joys it can provide, one at a time we may collectively create more of that goodwill toward men so endemic to this season.

So to whet the appetite and get those positive gears turning, here's some good news by the numbers for the U. S.:

Nine in 10: Children aged 8 to 19 who gave money to charity over the past decade (Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy).

Nineteen: States with declining obesity rates among low-income children (Centers for Disease Control, which credited awareness campaigns and better school nutrition).

Thirteen: Minutes warning before a tornado strike, up from five in the 1980s (ABC News).

One: Percent decrease in adults who smoked in 2012, breaking a nine-year stall (CDC). New York's smoking age is now 21 - the first state to prohibit sales to any teen (New York Times).

Thirty-two: Percent drop in youth incarceration rate over the last decade (National Juvenile Justice Network).

Eighteen: Cities with lower particle pollution over last five years; 16 had lowest ever recorded (American Lung Association).

Sixty-two: Percent of parents who find caring for their children "very meaningful;" only 36 percent felt that way about jobs, implying family is perceived as nearly twice as important (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

76.2: Consumer confidence level, the highest since February 2008 (Conference Board).

Fourteen million: More jobs projected for young workers as Boomers retire now through 2021 (Georgetown University).

If each person could daily conduct a similar mental exercise in his own life, list what is going well and reasons to be grateful (food, shelter, work, someone who cares, relative health), good news feels ever at hand.

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content." - Helen Keller

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at [email protected].