"Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears." ~ Richard Wilkins

A dear friend was lamenting the state of the world these days, and indeed, the wars, shootings, political and legal wrangles are disturbing to those who want peace and prosperity for all. In addition to the natural disasters, which seem constant: fires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes.

And yet, and yet...! For every negative media blast there is somewhere on the planet a positive situation or event. An Uber driver sacrificing his day’s work (which he dearly needed) to help a stranger who’d been robbed at California’s Coachella music festival find her phone and a way home. That same stranger turning around and creating a GoFundMe to help the driver with his daughter’s cancer treatment bills, to the tune of over a hundred thousand dollars.

A person just passing by saw that a dog had fallen into bone-chilling water in a frozen lake in New York's Central Park, and that the dog’s owner was having no luck getting the dog out. The good Samaritan gave it a go, tumbled into the water himself, yet managed to get both dog and himself out of the lake safe and sound. In Costa Rica, police stopped traffic to allow a sloth to cross a busy road—sloooowly, at a distinguished sloth pace.

I could go on and on. Good stuff happens every day in our world, in every corner of the world. The bad stuff grabs our attention, but you don’t have to park your attention there and camp out. If you feel called to action, great! You may decide to protest, petition or pray, whatever works for you. The important thing is that you also turn your attention to the good stuff.

That you pay attention to your dreams. Whether those dreams are for yourself, your family, your community, or our world matters not. What matters, as the quote states, is that you give at least as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears. Because only as we move in the direction of our dreams, both in thought and action, can those dreams come to pass.

And then, yes, miracles can start to happen!

Noelle C. Nelson, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, consultant, popular speaker in the U.S. and abroad, and author of over a dozen best-selling books. Dr. Nelson focuses on how we can all enjoy happy, fulfilling lives while accomplishing great things in love, at home and at work, as we appreciate ourselves, our world and all others. She is the author of "The Longevity Secret: How to Live Happy, Healthy & Vibrant into Your 70s, 80s, 90s and Beyond" You Matter. You Count. You Are Important. Visit www.noellenelson.com, Facebook.com/MeetTheAmazings, #MeetTheAmazings, @drnoellenelson.