Pleading the 5th Agreement

I was waiting at the checkout line at the grocery store the other day and did what most people waiting there do...I gazed at all the headlines in the ragmags. I took two of the ragmags and to keep the guy behind me entertained while waiting, I showed him how in one ragmag, Kim Kardashian had eloped in Paris with Kanye, while in another ragmag, Kim had discovered Kanye has a gay lover in Paris, so it's over between them. The man behind me responded with, "We just don't know what to believe anymore."

In grade school writing class we were taught "Just the facts, M'am." This is outdated anymore. It's all about sensational stories... and painting pictures in peoples' minds to keep them coming back for more. Whether in the media or in marketing.

Very often I will hear stories in the news and contact people who are in the area this story is covering. Often what is told in the media's version is not a true representation for all involved.

We truly have learned to take stories in with a grain of salt.  Don Miguel Ruiz' "Four Agreements", which came out 12 years ago, has helped me get through a lot of the hurdles going on these days:

• Don't take anything personally
• Don't make assumptions
• Be impeccable with your word
• Always do your best

 Ruiz' latest book, " The Fifth Agreement, A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery" falls right into place with the trend of media painting dramatic pictures to keep us watching and buying. That fifth agreement is:

"Be skeptical, but learn to listen."

I have not yet read this book and hear that it's a review of the first 4 agreements which didn't gel with some readers.  So be skeptical, but still listen....if you're a Ruiz fan....there's a new agreement in town.