Be grateful, be posative

Memorial Day 2019, is a perfect time to discuss the differences between having a positive attitude and having a negative attitude.  We have the choice to be grateful for their sacrifice or to be less than supportive of their efforts, regardless if you believe as they did or not.  They did die for what they thought was right and for that we should show them gratitude.

There are always up’s and down’s, periods of plenty and of famine.  Life is the process of developing skills and strategies to overcome these changes.  For the most part, Man has done a pretty good job of attempting to balance the unknowns, but we will never be able to eliminate those fluctuations, for in those variations is our life earned, our failures defined, and our successes realized.

Even when we work together and have the same goals and beliefs life throws curveballs that are difficult to hit, leaving all of us asking what went wrong?  Nothing went wrong, that is the nature of life, that is the process of living and the beauty of existence.  I’ll admit you may want to enhance your religious perspective a bit in order to understand this concept but that understanding will provide those who chose a view of the eternities and the true nature of life on earth.

Why do things go wrong?  Why is it that nothing works out as planned or as expected?  All of life can be described as degrading from what it was into less than it is, meaning (at least to me) that all things degrade over time.  But that does not help in understanding the need for life’s variations and the ups and down that constantly occur. 

When we change our view of life from a temporal view to a more celestial perspective, we start to realize that this life on Earth is not all there is.  During this life, we are given those challenges, those ups and down’s, those curve balls that seem to come without rhyme or reason.  Of course, many of our challenges are self-induced but even with the most careful planning life never goes as planned.

A simplistic view would be that life is chaotic but as individuals, we have the right to think and feel whatever we choose.  Despite what occurs around us, to us or by us we can choose happiness, sadness, anger or fear, we have that right each day.  Again, you may not accept this simple truth and I am saddened to say that, that’s too bad for you but in the end, we are ultimately responsible for how we feel.

I am not discounting the horrors of life or the unrelenting depredation of abuse, life is not fair by any means, millions suffer needlessly over the callous acts of others and the stupidity of self-imposed trauma’s but how we accept the outcome of life is not up to anyone else but yourself.  We can be victimized, marginalized, we can rationalize, compromise or we can decide to move forward, it really is your choice.  Not an easy one, not by any stretch of the imagination but that choice is 100% within your power.

We can react and be angry, fearful, spiteful and mean or we can decide to be happy, fulfilled, fearless, and motivated.  If you had to choose which would you rather be?  I also understand that due to horrible events the only emotion one feels is negative, fear or disgust but think about your health, seriously think about the effects of hate on your life, what happens to your body when it’s always negative.  When you start to understand that we have a choice, the difficult road to self-assurance is possible.

Too often in today's hyper-politicized, media-driven world, all we see is negative and with it the perspective that is derived from that negativity, feeding the frenzy and bacterizing every conversation, every thought and every fiber of our minds toward that insatiable darkness. 

It’s time to let the light in and when you do you will be amazed at what you see and how clear your view. 

This life is meant to be filled with joy.  Joy does not mean without pain or sorrow, without fear or disappointment for that is what life is.  Joy is being able to see beyond this life and into the eternal possibilities.  Joy is living through the hardness of life but realizing that this life is only temporary.  This is not our home.  Despite the horrors of life that are imbued onto all of us we can be filled with joy, call it happiness if you want, but we do not have to suffer mentally the constant and unrelenting negativity of this life, we can choose to be different, live differently and understand that when this life is over our true lives begin.

Like I said you might want to brush up on your religious understanding, it is worth the effort.  But even if that is too much for you at this stage of your development think of this as a science experiment and look up the numerous articles and studies about the benefits of being positive….