Being an Optimist in Bad Times

I am considered by many to be the Optimist. I try. I have to admit that I am not always successful inside my head.  But a few weeks ago, my RGH told me that I make him feel calm. Now I may not be able to compete with Angelina on a physical level but I dare her to try and keep my RGH calm. That being said, the bar got raised the day he told me this. I have to keep it up.

Today I discovered that my favorite Scrapbooking Magazine is going away. The economic slump has caused advertising to drop and so.... bye-bye Simple Scrapbooks.  I have friends that work for them. I have been a subscriber for years. It made the state of our nation, heck the world; painfully obvious. It makes me sad.

So how does one remain optimistic when it looks like everything is going in the crapper? Well, you must walk on the sunny side of the street, stop and smell the roses, smile though your heart is breaking, love the one you are with, don't worry and be happy. Remind you of a song?

There are times in our lives when we must turn inside ourselves and find our perspective. Look for the good things that remain even in bad times. Does someone love you? Do you love someone? Do you have food and shelter? Are your children healthy? Do you have a family that cares about you? Friends?  Are you of sound mind? Can you speak, read, hear, walk, run, cry, laugh, sing, hope?

In order to remain the optimist, I only need look at what I get to KEEP in spite of the state of our economy. In the RGH's line of work, we have muddled through many a down-turn. We know that lay-off is always lurking around the bend. We have lived through them and we can live through another. We have each other. We can live with much and we can live with little. Much is nicer but little is okay too, if we are together.

The world seems to work in cycles. So this is a low point in the cycle of the world. The pendulum will swing back the other way, eventually. It could be soon, or it could take awhile. As long as my grandchildren get to see it, I am okay with whatever life hands me. I'm not to thrilled with the wrinkles involved in this life but the RGH hasn't complained so...I can live with it.

Hug your children, sit next to your spouse on the couch and snuggle, call your mother, visit the folks next door. Play charades. Bake a cake from scratch. Plant seeds in the yard and watch them grow. Read a book. Walk the dog. Learn to play the harmonica.   These kinds of things will help keep you grounded when the earth is shaking beneath your feet. We are not our bank account. We are not the size of our house. We are not the economy.

We are living, breathing souls within a shell of a body. Life is simply what we do with our body and our soul. It's what we do with the body and soul that defines to the world, who we are.

Go forth today with optimism. Smile. Laugh. Sing. Love. Hope. LIVE.

And if people ask you what's going on...Tell them Mary made you do it and ask them to play along.

Blessings,

Mary