Forever Pollyanna…..
Do you remember the story of Pollyanna? The little girl who played the Glad Game? She always managed to find something to be glad about in any given situation. That has always been me. I can usually find some reason to find the good in any situation, some reason to look on the bright side. It’s not just that I am an optimist, although I am. It’s more that I have an inherent need to believe that things really do work for the good of those who believe. Believe what, you might ask? Well, nothing in particular. Just believe. I think to go through life without hope or optimism or believing that things generally always work out for the best eventually would be far too draining to endure. I simply couldn’t abide it. And so, without realizing it, I have always “looked on the bright side” and believed that my cup was always half full. I have chosen to “walk on the sunny side of the street” when given a choice, and there is nearly always a choice. That, too, is a belief. Does this make me naive? I don’t think so. I know there is pain and heartache and death and loneliness in the world. There is also light and love and hope and kindness and people reaching out helping hands. We have a choice in what we can choose to focus on and I nearly always choose to focus on the positive and that which offers the cheeriest outcome, no matter how dire the circumstance. Sometimes it can be a matter of choosing the best of a bad situation, but even that can be spun into a positive if the alternative is truly a worse option. Life is a challenge, no doubt about it. It always will be. There will be ups and downs, good days and bad days. There will be much that is out of our control and many things will happen to us that we will not like. But one thing will always be true and it may be a cliche but things become cliched because they are true–the one thing you can always control is your reaction to any given situation. And I find that if I can just find one thing, just one small thing to be glad about, just one thing that I can find to be positive about no matter how bad something might seem, then I can mentally adjust my attitude toward the situation. And it makes all the difference in the world. Try it. What have you got to lose? The worst that will happen is that people will call you an unrealistic, naive optimist who has her head in the clouds or perhaps up her butt. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been called worse. Much worse. And right there is something to be glad about…..
You are amazing my darling friend.
We need more Pollyanna’s! Great work Patty!