Fantastic Friday: Found

Several months ago, I read the story of a toddler who had wandered in the woods while his grandmother watched him. He was lost for days.  I remember waking up each day actively searching the news and waiting for the gut-punch when I glimpsed a headline that his body was found dead. Thankfully, I read the opposite. The boy was found alive.

Why had I assumed the worst? Does the news today condition us to do so? Was I just trying to protect myself by imagining the worst possible outcome?

This morning, I woke to a similar story. A couple who had gone hiking and underestimated the terrain was found alive after rescuers tracked their footprints and used a helicopter to spot a campfire.

The proverb “no news is good news” often comes to pass in our news cycle, and news stories often highlight the negative and unfortunate. It was nice to wake up this morning and find a story with a positive outcome.

The phrase “don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched” has always stayed with me, but I realize a twist on the expression is true as well: don’t always assume the worst…because there are many times when everything works out just fine.

Happy Friday!

In The Girl Who Flew Away, a girl goes missing in the woods, and the protagonist doesn’t give up hope of finding her.