Being mindful

Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed an uneasy pattern forming. Watching the news and having weather disrupt the daily routine, seems to have been mostly negative in nature. The reports in this country for most of the time have been largely ones of doom and gloom about the economy, cutbacks, taxes and living in general.
I felt myself becoming hopeless, and found my mood down and my mind distracted with fearful thoughts. It fed into the whole situation and highlighted stress in other areas of my life. This frenzy of downward thinking continued until today.
For some time I've had this nagging feeling that meditation would be a good idea. Exercise and yoga would be a nice addition, but the whole act of meditating seemed to resonate quite loudly with me. So the internet helped in my research to fing out about some of the various forms of meditation and how to start it off.
What struck me having waded through many sites on it however, was this one aspect of mediation outlined in a lovely document on the site www.swarmij.com. I've taken a portion of it to give you an example, but recommend you visit the site to read it in its entirety.
"Once my Master said, “Stand there.” We were talking about destiny. I stood. He said, “Will you please lift one foot off the ground?” And I lifted my foot. He said, “Now lift both feet off the ground.” I said, “I’m sorry, I cannot do it.” He thus taught me that 50% of your destiny is in your hands and 50% is with Providence. Will you please play your part so that Providence helps you?"
The above story made me sit up and take notice, as I realised that the 50% that is in my hands is around my thoughts. These thoughts can focus on negative or positive, and as such actions can arise out of these thoughts that will help or hinder me and how I live.
In days like these, isn't it good to consider that we can be mindful and gain some peace from simply taking the time to be still and watch our thoughts?