Clean Leaning

It’s a rough time right now in our lives in America. If you turn on the TV and watch any of the political goings on, it makes it sound like we are living in some sort of hells cape. Of course there are some of us who are dealing with struggles that are very real, but for the most part we all have blessings in our lives that we can and should embrace, even at the darkest times. Maybe especially at the darkest time.

I’ve always wondered what makes one person a “positive” person, and what makes another one live life in such a pessimistic way. I know some people deal with depression, and I am very thankful that, for the most part, that is not something I’ve dealt with in my life. Very thankful. But barring that, is optimism ingrained? Can pessimism be learned? Can positivity be embraced?

How do you embrace positivity in your life? I’ve shared in the past that I used to work with a woman who would snarkily call me “Pollyanna”. It was a mock, not a mean one…but not a nice one either. It was a good-natured joke because I was working three jobs, we were extremely poor college students living from paycheck to paycheck. Things seemed to ALWAYS be going wrong in our lives, but I always had a smile on my face and was whistling all the time, loved my happy clappy movies, and looked on the bright side. My co-worker was a pessimist who didn’t understand how I could be so upbeat in such bad circumstances.

I knew that bad times don’t last, and that every tough time we were going through was building character. (I used to joke we were building so much character we could open a cartoon shop.) I also knew the struggle would be worth it in the long run, and that it wasn’t really atypical for college students who married (too) young. I was right, things got easier.

Life comes at you in waves. Sometimes the waves are easy and it’s easy to be positive and it’s during those times it is so easy to forget to look around say “Wow, I am really blessed!” I’m not sure why that Is, but like any habit it is important to build that “muscle of positivity. Be grateful often. Make it a habit every day to look around and be thankful for your family, for your friends, for the home you have, for the peace in your life, for the freedom you live under. Write it down, or say it out loud or during a daily meditation. Catch your self talk and listen…is it overall positive? Is it overall negative? Can you turn the tables so that the balance falls back into the positive?

We know the waves will hit us again and the tough times will return. Sadly that is life, but building the positivity muscle helps us to weather that storm. Even in the darkest time our blessings can help us…the friends we have appreciated as a habit, the family we have shown gratitude to, the home we have cherished and made our refuge.

Since college we’ve had a lot more times that have been tough…really tough. I really think practicing positivity through tough times has made it easier to remain positive. in fact, I’ve often been asked how I keep my positive attitude while dealing with my head issues. It’s just that I embrace positivity! After all, what’s the alternative, wallow in pessimism? What kind of life would that be? Dark and joyless. No thank you. I am blessed beyond measure with my husband, my family, my friends (many of whom are reading this–I love you and appreciate you), the enjoyable times we have together, and my otherwise healthy body. I have a home to live in full of happy dogs, and I have everything I need and many things I want. I love my job, I live in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. How can I complain! As long as I live I want to flex my positivity muscle many times a day!