An optimistic point of view...

I'd like to think that the majority of the time, my view on life is optimistic. Granted, I have my days where I would rather stay in bed, under the covers and pretend that the world is out to get me...but in all reality, it's just not in my nature to think the worst about things...or people for that matter.

This weekend, I had conversations with many friends, but one conversation struck me the most. This one involved a friend telling me that they didn't have the same faith in God as they used to because God took something away from them before they were ready to give it up. (I'm being vague here on purpose). My view on this particular situation is that a) it was probably time for the something to be given up b) its selfish to want to keep things because you're not ready c) there are other things in life that can make up for the somethings that we have to give up. I realize that sometimes, when we give things up that we don't want to, we often don't see the light at the end of the tunnel or the hand reaching for us to help us through the darkness. We want to get angry and denounce what we believe because it makes us feel better to stay angry and to not see the other side of the argument. But, at the same time.....when one door closes, another one always opens. Maybe we don't see it right away, and maybe it's not God who's taking the doors and closing them in our face and then opening new ones just as we run into the closed one. I do believe there is something bigger than me guiding me through my path whether that be God, Buddha, Gandhi, whomever. But maybe, if we took the time to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the hand reaching for ours, we'd be able to "handle" situations better in our day to day life.

I had someone tell me today that maybe I shouldn't take all my vacation time this summer in case a friend or family member died and I needed to go to their funeral.....I decided that I would err on the side of optimism and life my days thinking that everyone I love will have a happy and healthy year this year.

I just think that if we live our lives always looking behind to see what negativity is gaining on our heels, then we're living our lives always looking behind. We don't know the fate of the world, or what is going to happen in this life today or tomorrow...but what we can know and what we can control is our attitude about this day and this life. I thinking choosing the optimistic point of view in the end results in much happier outcomes. We worry ourselves until we've worried ourselves away and force ourselves to feel depressed and undo sadness.

I'm going to live my life with an optimistic point of view...and I hope you do too!

"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought."
-Peace Pilgrim