OK, this is a response to Andi's thread, The Bad Habit of Being Negative. Like her, I've been told that we have more control over our outlook than we realize. Having it phrased as a choice, though, has always pissed me off; it always sounded too much like being told to "snap out of" a deep depression.
But to hear that happiness and hope can be learned - that's a different story altogether! We're all smart people, right? Coming out of the Spoof has taught all of us lessons about emotion and psychology, right?
So, let's practice. Blessings big and small, happy ironies (the "bad news/good news" thing), the latest amazing website or family brag story - bring it on!
Here's my latest grab-bag:
- We're not gonna die, part 3
- LISTEN TO THIS! WOW!
- Just when I was desperately wishing for two days off from work, the family cold kicks in - fever and frog-in-the-throat - just enough to make commute and work impossible, but not enough to keep me from enjoying two days of reading, thinking and websurfing.
- My daughter, who just left home, has a really horrible cold, much worse than mine - but her roommates are waiting on her hand and foot, her internet friends are wrapping her up in advice and good wishes, and it looks like she's starting to recover.
- I had a fabulous dream this morning:
I was wiping out, destroying, all my old documents, saving nothing but a singed clove of garlic and a single footnote: “Matt. 8:8.”Which says: “Lord, I am not fit for you to come under my roof; just say the word and my servant will be healed.” The presence of the garlic clove shows that this dream is about healing rather than segregation. (I've been treating my cold with garlic, among other things.)
The magical thing is that I haven’t made a serious attempt at bible reading in at least ten years, so I no longer had any idea where that verse was. Furthermore, it was never on the Top 40 list of JW proof-texts, so I had no compelling reason to be aware of it back then, either.
Your turn now
gentlyferal