OT - Very Powerful Message

[Madalot]

This was posted on FB and was allegedly written by a 14-year old. I can be pretty negative at times and this definitely got me thinking.

Today was the absolute worst day ever
And don't try to convince me that
There's something good in every day
Because, when you take a closer look,
This world is a pretty evil place.
Even if
Some goodness does shine through once in a while
Satisfaction and happiness don't last.
And it's not true that
It's all in the mind and heart
Because
True happiness can be obtained
Only if one's surroundings are good
It's not true that good exists
I'm sure you can agree that
The reality
Creates
My attitude
It's all beyond my control
And you'll never in a million years hear me say that
Today was a good day


Now read from bottom to top

[grayghost4]

got you thinking that it is all in the WAY we say things

[Madalot]

got you thinking that it is all in the WAY we say things

Not just in the way we say it, but in how we view it. Exact same words, read in different order, mean two, totally opposite things.

[chunkyfrog]

Attitude makes a huge difference.
In younger days, my thought was often, "Why me?"
But I changed--One day I realized that if I could not change the world around me,
I could at least influence how I felt about it.
Not once did those two words occur to me during my short battle with cancer;
Except, "How did I get to be so ridiculously lucky?"
But research has shown that cancer patients who are upbeat and optimistic have higher survival numbers.

[ChicagoGranny]

This one was also supposedly written by a 14-year old.

Our Generation

Our generation will be known for nothing.
Never will anybody say,
We were the peak of mankind.
That is wrong, the truth is
Our generation was a failure.
Thinking that
We actually succeeded
Is a waste. And we know
Living only for money and power
Is the way to go.
Being loving, respectful, and kind
Is a dumb thing to do.
Forgetting about that time,
Will not be easy, but we will try.
Changing our world for the better
Is something we never did.
Giving up
Was how we handled our problems.
Working hard
Was a joke.
We knew that
People thought we couldn't come back
That might be true,
Unless we turn things around

(And now read this bottom to top)

[kteague]

Been seeing this circulating on FB but hadn't read it. Glad I took a moment to tune in. I can't say how one develops the silver lining perspective of life - maybe it's the personality one is born with, but I do think it can be mindfully cultivated. Really grateful for the positive examples I've been exposed to throughout life or I might have been overwhelmed by the swell of difficulties. Life can be good even when hard. I recommit to not choosing to absorb unnecessary negativity. Life offers enough on its own without self inflicted piling on. Thanks for the reminder.

[chunkyfrog]

I think some are lucky to learn it from our parents.
The rest of us have to learn it.
Mindfulness is a good idea--one has to be aware of their inner conversation, and keep it positive.
Sometimes going through the motions, even without feeling it, helps.
I suspect that is why the Rosary has been said for so many generations.

[Noctuary]

Its a whole different ballgame when you are wiped out.

[kteague]

Its a whole different ballgame when you are wiped out.

Indeed it is. When new people in my life hear my back story I always get "sounds like a movie" but nothing depleted my "happy" resources like dealing with my health issues about 10 years ago. When I was in survival mode my emotions were pretty much flatlined and took a long time to bounce back. I certainly don't mean to imply everyone should should be perpetually giddy - life can deal some severe blows and the emotions that come with the blows are real and raw. Just reminded to save my energies for the things that matter and for things I have no choice but deal with. Hope you get a glimpse of some silver lining moments in your time of being wiped out. Sorry you are in that place.

[Madalot]

Its a whole different ballgame when you are wiped out.

Yes, you are right. I think it's when times are the worst that we need to TRY to focus on the positive and lift ourselves up. Reading this yesterday really "hit" me and I thought I'd share in hopes that it would do for others what it did for me.

[Sir NoddinOff]

Most of the people on this forum, if not virtually all, are a privileged group that is 'rich' enough to have a decent life - at least they don't seem to suffer from extreme pestilence, war and starvation. For a lot of the world, all those messages from 'fourteen year old girls' boil down to: Can I get enough food to keep my family and myself alive today? Will some extremist kook kill us today? Will a nasty disease take me out? That's not to put down positive attitude, which I personally think is a great thing, but there are certain pre-conditions that make it easier to keep a rosy outlook on life. Sorry, but that's harsh reality. Anyway, here's wishing you all peace, love and prosperity. Also, consider giving some money or time to any number of charities... it'll make you feel good and do others a world of good.

[Madalot]

Most of the people on this forum, if not virtually all, are a privileged group that is 'rich' enough to have a decent life - at least they don't seem to suffer from extreme pestilence, war and starvation. For a lot of the world, all those messages from 'fourteen year old girls' boil down to: Can I get enough food to keep my family and myself alive today? Will some extremist kook kill us today? Will a nasty disease take me out? That's not to put down positive attitude, which I personally think is a great thing, but there are certain pre-conditions that make it easier to keep a rosy outlook on life. Sorry, but that's harsh reality. Anyway, here's wishing you all peace, love and prosperity. Also, consider giving some money or time to any number of charities... it'll make you feel good and do others a world of good.

You are absolutely right, Sir NoddinOff. Those of us that have a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs and NOT worry about the things you list -- ARE privileged, but we sometimes behave like spoiled brats that could use a good ass whipping (referring to some of the nasty threads of late).

So many people, including people on this forum, believe they have it so badly and they don't think for a minute about those that truly ARE less fortunate.

There's that saying that if everyone had to throw their troubles into a tub and pull out a different set of troubles, most people would take their own back after reading what others are enduring.

Sir NoddinOff -- I wish you peace, love and prosperity right back.

[Noctuary]

I don't buy the notion that we should feel good by comparing ourselves to those who are in worse conditions. Would you tell someone who just got paralyzed to cheer up because at least they aren't in a burn unit? Would you tell a starving person to be glad that they are still above ground? There's something wrong with that, and it seems like twisting the knife of suffering in deeper when that argument is used.

I just want to feel rested. Rested. Just goddamned rested.

[chunkyfrog]

Comparisons do seem awkward; too close to freudenschade sometimes.
But when I see people with great attitudes, in spite of worse situations, it makes me think.
I can see how I can feel better by only changing my thoughts.

[Madalot]

I don't buy the notion that we should feel good by comparing ourselves to those who are in worse conditions. Would you tell someone who just got paralyzed to cheer up because at least they aren't in a burn unit? Would you tell a starving person to be glad that they are still above ground? There's something wrong with that, and it seems like twisting the knife of suffering in deeper when that argument is used.

I just want to feel rested. Rested. Just goddamned rested.

It's your right to feel that way. I think many of us try to look outside ourselves to put our own situations into perspective. It isn't really comparing to others in worse situations (and of course I wouldn't say something like you suggested). But perpetual indulgence in self pity doesn't help. And some of us choose to look at the "there are many others worse off" to help us put OUR situations into perspective. That helps us out of the "poor me" attitude that, from what I can see, doesn't help or solve anything.

And that's our right to handle our situations in that way.