NJM #11 – best advice

The best advice I was probably ever given is twofold.

“Whatever you look for, you will find. If you live in the negative, waiting for something bad to happen, or for the other shoe to drop – it will. However, If you look for the positive, and strive actively to see the hidden beauty in the world, you will find that it is a wonderous place and that, in spite of balancing cirucmstances that grow to define you – life is worth living in it.”

also, when I asked an old couple that had been married for 50 + years what the secret to a lasting, loving relationship was, they both looked at me and smiled, and said “develop a humerous tolerance”

Both of these statements have not only proven true for me, but life changing. I don’t really consider myself overtly pessimiestic, but a realist, and it is sometimes even now a challenge to find the bright side, without worrying what next bad thing is right around the corner. I’m finding that circumstances, whether good or bad, are opportunities to learn, to grow and define yourself differently. Even the ones that are hard. I consider negative experience to be like a whetstone for me now – polishing my inner core of beauty. “if you resist at every rub, how then will you ever be polished”. So I am actively now making an effort to not look for the bad first, but focus on the more positive approach and the oppurtunities within every struggle. It’s not always easy, but it makes life a lot more beautiful.