I try to be upbeat and look on the positive side of things. It's just easier on the emotions. It isn't always that way, there are times that things do get me down. I get cranky, I get upset, I growl and howl at the injustices of life. Sometimes I even have an all out tantrum! Cleanses the mental and emotional palate just a bit, and makes room for a new outlook once all the sludge has passed on through, sort of like the peace following a big storm. Taking in the fresh clean air after the storm is always so refreshing. Knowing that, I have a really hard time understanding why more people don't try to see the positive, but instead focus on the negative of life. It doesn't make any sense.
Every single day each one of us comes into contact with one or more people that just can't seem to get a handle on anything except negativity. They wake up in the morning and are upset that they have to go to work, so rather than thanking God that they have a job, they go all Eeyore on the situation and moan and groan about it being too hot to work, too cold to work, too tiring to work, they have too many hours or too long of a day, or too few hours or too short of a day. They can't seem to strike that happy spot that shines light on any situation EVER! The result of this attitude ends up being that they not only focus on their own negativity, they bring down everyone they come into contact with, and that ultimately makes everyone want to run screaming to a different location where happy, upbeat and positive people are hanging out - leaving the Eeyore to munch on the sour grapes in isolation. Think about it, with the current administration (I prefer to think of it as a regime) systematically dismantling our country, our freedoms, our liberty and our happiness one piece at a time, we are living in a house of cards, knowing that at any moment it could all come crashing down on our heads. We turn on the news we see disasters created by both God and man, and honestly it's frightening. With all of that negativity going on all around us all the time, it's more important than ever to look inside of our hearts and find that happy place that makes a little bit of Tigger pop up in our outlook. We don't need to ignore the negative, just temper it a bit with positive so we aren't doom and gloom in every aspect of our daily lives.
We all have an Eeyore that is always depressed and down in the mouth - some of us have more than one Eeyore in our lives. If you are an Eeyore and didn't realize it, sit up and pay attention to what you're doing to your friends and family. Think about this. When you get up in the morning and greet the day, is it with a happy thought and a thank you to God for giving you a job, a roof, food, clothes and friends? Or do you greet it with a grimace on your face, a scowl in your heart and a determination to be miserable no matter what? Do you find the dark cloud in every situation, or do you search until you find the silver lining? What you do to your family and friends is horrible! The stress that you heap on their systems by your very negativity takes away their happy and replaces it with anger and frustration, until they too walk around with storm clouds over their heads.
To the Eeyore's in my life - STOP IT! Life is too short to look at the bad side of things all the time. Try opening up your eyes to the blessings you've been given. You may not have the ideal job - who among us does after all? - but doggone it you HAVE one! You may not get the hours you want, but the potential for hours is still there. You may not get the pay you want, but again, the potential is there. If you don't like your job, find a new one. If you like your job but want more money, find a second one. If you wake up and it's hot out, at least you can see the sun, feel it on your skin and rejoice in the chance to soak up some precious Vitamin D (THIS is my Eeyore spot by the way - I'm not too fond of hot weather). If you wake up and it's raining, don't grumble about getting wet, rejoice that the earth gets a drink of water. When you look in the mirror or step on the scale and don't like what you see, rather than go around grumbling and whining about it, DO something positive about it (I'm looking at myself here my friends - I'm such an Eeyore in this scenario). Moaning about how tight your jeans are isn't going to make them fit better and will make you feel even worse. The eyerolls you see and you go on and on about this problem, or that problem, from those around you is the people you care about getting frustrated. Any moment now they are going to bolt for the door. When you find yourself having a hard time finding anyone willing to sit and listen to your troubles with any real sympathy, there could be a reason for it that has nothing to do with them, and everything to do with you.
Here's a thought . . . Try for 1 week to look at the good in each morning, each activity and each blessing, rather than grumbling about how things are not the way you want them to be. I can just about guarantee you that you'll end the week feeling better, and that your family and friends won't resent the heck out of your very presence. I speak to everyone I know when I say this because we all of us, every single one, has the potential each day to be an Eeyore - and every single one of us needs to know that this attitude impacts everyone we come into contact with and brings them down to Eeyore level too.
I guess what I really am trying to say is stop being someone's storm cloud and bring on some happy . . .
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