Positive Thoughts

Bad things can and do happen. But guess what... Good things can and do happen too!

It's a beautiful cool morning in Southeast Texas. A deep blue sky covers the woods where runners and cyclists have been out all morning, where birds are singing, kids are laughing. I have finished my 10 mile run and now sit out by my pool with a cup of coffee. I am grateful.

So many times I dwell on the negatives of my life. I see the painful events of my past and present and feel hopeless for my future. Often I forget to remember the good stuff. I forget the kind and wonderful things people have said or done and remember the mean things. Why? I forget the lovely moments of holding my kids and playing with them for hours when they were little and remember instead every mistake I ever made as a mom.

Shame on me! Life has been very difficult. We have been through excruciating pain. BUT, we have also known very happy times. We did some stuff right as parents. Our family enjoyed traveling. We got to do races together. We have had some good things come our way. Those are the things I need to focus on, not the bad things.

In fact, even the Bible mentions this in Phillipians 4:8 ~ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

I do not want to live in fear or anxiety for all the terrible things that might go wrong. Instead I want to recognize that something good is just as possible. Sure, I will suffer some disappointments, but I will also see the good. And I will live a happier life choosing to focus on the positive. Today, I'm happy. Something terrible could happen. But so could something good. It already has. I ran 10 miles and I'm having coffee.