Day 13 of the 21 day gratitude challenge – I’m loving this challenge, but wow it is a challenge!  I’m not used to blogging so much, but glad (and thankful, of course) that I am.

So the assignment is this –  Pick three friends or family members you see regularly. View their actions and gestures through a positive lens, assuming their goodness and witnessing their best intentions.  –

Nearly all my family and friends are positive people.  Of course they have negative thoughts at times (who doesn’t?), but for the most part they’re positive.  When they’re not, they become aware they’re not (which I think is what’s important!).  I’m extremely grateful to be surrounded by their light.  I think we all help each other shine brighter!

In watching and listening to some of my family and friends here’s what I’ve discovered.  It’s enlightening to witness when life gives you lemons.  At first there may be some bitterness, some stress and some anxiety but in the end it always works itself out.  I’m fortunate (and oh so grateful) that I learned this and grasped onto it a long time ago…so I rarely get stressed.  I just sit back and wait for the lemonade!  But, I see this happening with people around me (and in myself at times)…  A life situation arises (not enough money, not enough time, etc) and at the moment it seems horrible…maybe there’s some bitching, complaining, and just negativity.  We all handle stress in a different way.  At a point, though, there’s a shift.  We see just a little glimpse of light in the darkness and there’s hope.  We start to see a little more lightness and the positivity comes back…more hope, more faith, more confidence, more smiles!

I think that entire process is pretty cool.  I see it play out in different people and with different situations.  For some, the gap between the “horrible” situation and the glimpse of light is wide.  It takes a while.  And in some (depending on the person & the situation), the gap is much shorter.  I’m so thankful that my gap is typically really short, and I’m thankful that I have gotten to witness this and write it down.  I think it totally helps it stick.  It helps me remember that there will be light, there will be lemonade!

So thank you to my family and friends for letting me learn from you.  Thank you for being who you are, for having genuine goodness in your heart and for having only the best of intentions.

I’m thankful for having such positive people in my life.  I’m thankful that we all have hope and faith, and I’m really grateful that I’m aware of this!

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Like millions of others out there, and you may be one yourself — you know who you are — I am a Facebook junkie!  I resisted it for a long while but eventually gave in, and I’m glad I did.  It’s such a great way to keep in touch and know what’s going on in EVERYONE’S life (even those that you may not care to know).  It’s funny how people from your past start coming out of the woodwork…some it’s great to see and talk to, and some not so much, but either way they’re still “friends”.

So…I’m having a conversation with a friend (wall to wall) and another “friend” got into the conversation.  No big deal, right?  Well, this guy wasn’t very nice in his comment.  In fact, he was downright rude.  My initial reaction was to comment back and defend myself.  I was ready to go to war!  BUT, I didn’t.  Instead, I decided to just send him some love. I figured that’s what he needed more than a cuss word or two (or more!) from me.  I struggled with it for about a day and a half…I’m commenting back, no – I’m sending positive energy, no – tear him a new one, okay – positive, love energy!

Once I got over the curve, I felt great!  It’s so nice to send someone positive energy rather than sink to their negativity.  And, I’m sure he felt horrible for making the comment that he did.

Has this ever happened to you – you say something nasty to someone and they don’t respond, and once you realize they’re not going to respond you feel really bad?

It’s really cool how we can choose how we’re going to respond to something.  We can choose the negative path or the positive one.  It’s your choice!  When I chose the positive path, I felt good and that’s really what it’s all about.  It’s about feeling good!

I love you, Facebook!

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