Recently, my wife and I talked about all the bad in the world. It was a real gripe fest. Then, we paused and recognized that we were at home, cooking a fresh breakfast and starting our day together. We realized we could voice our opinions publicly, practice our faith openly, and spend time with friends and family. We also recognized that we could adapt to downturns, which simultaneously disappoint and empower us.

How bad could things be if we started our day so positively? And why does the world feel so wrong when plenty of things are going so right? Do we overlook the positives and ignore them as mundane? Could things be good overall, but we’ve been spoiled into thinking they aren’t?

We’re living in good times but suffering from cyclical anguish. Something terrible happens; we react viscerally; we adopt negative attitudes; and our negative attitudes set us up for failure, causing more bad things to happen, continuing the cycle of negativity.

How many problems would disappear if we put positivity into our hearts and minds?

For instance, we enjoy our radiant and nerdy love, and our marriage is built on a bedrock of faith. We enjoy home-cooked meals, libraries, and walks. The quality of people in our lives is improving, and their numbers are constantly growing. We spend quality time with family and friends too. Our time spent together is chockfull of interpersonal connection and laughter—like when I showed my wife’s parents the wild bush of marijuana growing at the abandoned house next to us. It’s hidden in plain sight.

I’ve become good at saving money at the grocery store because I’ve learned how to optimize our grocery runs, and we eat well. Sometimes, it’s spaghetti and meat sauce; today, it was picadillo. We eat fresh fruits and vegetables, store whole grains in our pantry, and keep frozen tuna steaks on standby. We eat dinners at our own table, which we make and serve. We wash our dishes, and sometimes we don’t. We even make our own half-and-half cause it’s more affordable to buy 1% milk and heavy cream and then mix the two. Remind me to tell you the recipe. You’ll never guess the ratio. 😜

I’m not working or making as much money as I’d like. I’ve also got a lot of student loans hanging over me. But we learned to make a monthly budget and save as much as possible. We are a one-car couple. I ride the bus daily. I take the car some days, and my wife rides the bus instead. While riding the bus, I read, write, and sometimes speak with other passengers.

These qualities in my life bring me fulfillment. They take something like economic inflation and pump it into hot-air balloons. The view from a positive disposition is breathtaking. There is fresh air up here.

Someone told me that things going precisely as planned may not be what makes a difference in your life. Sometimes, we needn’t a plan but a general sense of how to live during golden times.

We cannot always change what’s happening in the world or our own lives, but we can change our disposition toward life’s disappointments. The cycle must be broken inside of us first. If not, we’re doomed to remain factors in the cycle of negativity. This does not mean to live in ignorance. It just means that a warm life can happen against the backdrop of a cold world.

Patience. Responsibility. Adaptation. Positivity. Love. Joy. Peace. Generosity. Friendship. They’re all possible in stormy conditions.

References

Highsmith, Carol M. 2016, August 13. One of several Great Depression-era murals mounted in the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates Building, once the Des Moines, Iowa, Public Library. The Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016630743/

Photo Credit

Yanas, Dominic. 2023, May 22. Cycle of Negativity. DomTheWriter.Com.

Graphic