Positive Thinking

To be able to notice and appreciate even the smallest things in our lives that make us happy is a an art.

Overlooking flaws, not concentrating on mistakes or things we are missing and also, being grateful for all that is working for us well is  needed for a hopeful life.

Do you remember the books called “Where is Waldo?” I had a couple of them when I was a kid. Basically, it was a game on perception, teaching you to pay attention to details, by careful concentration and visual skills. Your job was to find Waldo, small figure of a boy, on the pages which were a busier expressionistic form, colors and shapes in the wildest puzzle of life. Yes, I was quite successful in finding Waldo, as a matter of the fact, the more books I had with Waldo the better I got at locating him.

Well, I knew what I was looking for, so I muted and ignored all that distraction and did not pay attention even to the loudest attention seekers saying “look at me now!”. The key was not only to know who you were looking for but also to focus on finding just him, despite many other “interesting” objects.

It is very similar with our lives. Our perception of reality needs to have a goal of looking for the positive in every situation. This will give us, not only the strength to survive through difficult times, but also will highlight small and hardly noticeable aspects of our lives that are worth being grateful for.

Just like with Waldo, we need to pay an attention and filter the “negative noise “of our world to find what we are looking for. One may call it disillusion of the real life or wearing “happy glasses” but if that’s true, then worrying over every failure and unhappiness would be nothing else but wearing “dark shades” and being as much disillusion as in the first case, except by the negativity. It seems to me that choice belongs only to you and I would rather dedicate my life to find the happy and cheerful Waldo than be grumpy and depressed.

The more “happy Waldos” you find the better you get at this game. One day it will become natural and instinctual like breathing.

I am still learning and reminding myself to look beyond obvious moments of heartache and sadness. And finding comfort in learning life lessons, the one the ones we not taught in school. Having hope that future holds the answer for us and the lesson will be revealed to open our understanding and acceptance.

We are a very assertive, powerful and perfectionist society, in my opinion. We believe in achieving what we set out to have, the way we want to be satisfied and happy at the end. There is nothing wrong with good self esteem, clear goals, perseverance, maybe even touch of excellence, but to set out to obtain impossible goals, to have everything just the way we want, is leading to disappointments.

Life is unpredictable. We are not the masterminds of the cosmos and our happiness; on the contrary it is not in direct correlation with “perfectly achieved projects”, somebody said. If we follow this road, we will be looking forever, chasing our own happiness, and never holding on to it, long enough to feel satisfied.

Changing perspective to “now”, in the present, finding reasons to be happy and realizing it is in the state of mind and not attachments. This way, you are giving yourself a chance to experience life and yourself through your own reality in making, with happiness as a companion.

There are tragic situations in many lives, especially when we lose someone we love. The darkness is all around us, our heart is broken and it feels as nothing can make things better. Nothing. In this situation we need to be very patient and then hope for light entering our lives in any form possible.

Being positive and looking for it in our lives is not for the fools, if anything, it is for the brave at heart, letting hopes, faith, determination and love to fill its space, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

It is for the human spirit, which comes alive and shines the light to believe in  the impossible. Being positive is a way of life. Like anything else, we have to make the conscious choice and then commit to see everything around from that perspective.

Is it possible to make a change in life, by just being positive? I truly believe so, it is not by a magic act but, by allowing the hope and chance factor to enter our life and create more life, more possibilities and more beginnings than ends.

Is the definition of happiness after all, more beginnings than ends?