Negativity...
It's everywhere.
It's especially rampant in people who are stressed out.
It saps the oxygen out of an atmosphere.
It makes a person focus on even the minutest of inconveniences and exaggerate their effect on their life.
It schools the soul to search out the worst case scenario.
It twists the innocent motives and benign happenings into evidence that the cosmos has a personal vendetta.
It causes a preoccupation with navel gazing to the extent that blessed opportunities are lost.
It drains a person of synergistic energy.
When it rains, it sees the mud puddles - not the glistening rose rising out of the mud.
When it's cold, it feels the damp instead of basking in the warmth of the fire in the hearth.
When it's hot, it wallows in the sticky humidity of the summer day instead of savoring the taste of refreshing cold water.
The food is too bland, too spicy, too cold, too hot, too expensive; the serving too big, too small; the waitress too slow; too grouchy, too friendly.
The professor is too boring; too long-winded; too thorough in presentation.
The exams are too hard; too tricky; too long; not enough points; too close together.
The house is too hot, too cold.
Gas is too expensive; the grocery bill too steep.
Your job takes too much of your time; the pay isn't enough; your boss is too hard to please.
And on and on I could go....
Does any of this sound familiar? We all are a bunch of spoiled kids who think the world revolves around them and them only. Got news for you - the world does not spin on the axis of you or my likes, wants, and "needs". And most of the things we complain nonstop about? Guess what, they are luxuries - things that most folks in other countries never take for granted. They don't even know if they will get the basics of survival for the next day. Still feeling negative about the petty grievances in your life? Then perhaps you ought to stop that navel gazing.
I've been on a self imposed negativity awareness watch here of late. It's amazing how many times I heard it in a day's time once I started tuning my ear for it. And yes, it came out of my mouth far too many times than what I would like to admit. It's debilitating to myself and to others. By being negative, I'm making myself the most miserable, but I'm also making it extremely miserable for those around me too.
I've found that when I'm looking for the negative; things become negative that would not have been negative otherwise. I'm not advocating looking at life with rose-tinted glasses. There is such a thing as reality and being a realist. But it's possible to be a realist and be upbeat about it. I learned that lesson from my Dad. And so many people have told me the same thing about my Dad - what impressed them the most is that in the most impossible of situations, my Dad would find something positive about it or at the very least keep his smile and his upbeat attitude.
That, my friends, is an admirable reputation and legacy to leave with people. I've got me a lot of growing to do. Gotta toss off those dark, stormy-gray glasses and trade them in for glasses that show me the light in every situation.
Happy Monday to you all and hey, do yourself a favor and look for the positive this week!
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