Today's quotation:

While holding positive thoughts and emotions is advantageous, positive thinking itself is not "Hallmark Card thinking."  It's really an ongoing awareness that all truly is well with the world, with life, and with oneself.  It's also a commitment not to mindlessly pass on fears but to bring positive energy, images, ideas, and feelings into the lives of others, to help them attune to the wellness at the heart of the world.

David Spangler

Today's Meditation:

I try to think positive thoughts all the time, but I'm not that good at it.  Years of conditioning by parents and other family members who always saw the negative sides of things keep me thinking that things are going to go wrong somehow, some way, and having all of the traits of an Adult Child of an Alcoholic keeps me likewise constantly expecting another disaster rather than focusing on the positive and the good that are all around me all the time.  Nevertheless, I try because I've seen first-hand the positive results of positive thinking.

There are no miracles about it--it's more a question of "like attracts like."  Positive people attract other positive people and positive situations.  Looking at the bright side of the world puts one in a position to experience more brightness, and the energy that's created from positivity is much stronger than that created from negativity.  The makers of Monsters, Inc. knew this when they showed us that the energy from children's laughter was much, much more powerful than the energy generated by their fears.

I can be positive when I always try to find the best possible outcome to any situation; when I encourage someone else rather than criticize them; when I decide to go on with something that I want to quit on because I know that somehow, the best possible result will come out of it as long as I act with good intentions and give it my best.  I don't expect fairy-tale endings, but I know that my positive thoughts will help me to stick with whatever I'm doing and do my best at it.

I can also be positive when I see something awful happen and realize that this isn't what life is about, and that this, too, shall pass.

Positive thinking isn't delusional thinking.  It's helping to put positive energy into a world that desperately needs positivity because so many of our fellow humans want to contribute only in negative ways.  Let's be positive, for our sakes, for the sakes of the other people in our world, and for the world's sake.

For further thought:

Positive thinking is not always the easiest course of action when confronting difficulties.  If, however, we can remain focused on keeping hope strong and not succumbing to negative influences, we will meet with success in dealing with anything life may throw in our path.

Hiram Rogers Lloyd

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