Today is the first day of spring, and, as Fernand Léger once said, "the beautiful is everywhere." I am fortunate enough to spend my day in front of a window where I can see the grass and trees and lots and lots of birds and squirrels who seem just as excited for springtime as I am. There is always something about spring that brings about a sense of hope and a believe that there really is a reason to focus on the positive things in life. Today I am reminding myself to be grateful of that feeling of hopeful positivity.
Yesterday (back when it was still winter), a friend of mine emailed me this quote: "Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." I think this quote is a great one. It encourages us to focus on the positive, and reminds us that, in doing so, negativity will be a thing of the past. It seems to me that whatever we focus on in life -- the positive, the negative, or any combination of the two -- taints the world around us. If we focus on the negative, our world will be in shadows, and we will see the negative in everything. If we focus on the positive, however, we will see the sunlight and the positivity that radiates in everything (even in bad situations).
For me, this concept is most clear when I am driving. When I am driving and I look towards something (say, an accident or an interesting building), I find that my car tends to drift in that direction. In life, I feel this is no different. When I look towards the negative, I go toward it. When I look towards the positive, I go toward it. What it comes down to is this: we have a choice. We can choose what we want to focus on. No matter what we encounter in life, we always have a choice about how we react to it, and our reactions often depend on the way we view the world in general. We have a choice about this viewpoint, so ask yourself: would you rather veer towards positivity or negativity?
My advice? My experience tells me that it's always best to turn your face to the sun.
Hi, thanks for stopping by Singletude: A Positive Blog for Singles! You have a lovely, inspiring blog. I like your example of how focus affects where you steer your car...and your life.
Posted by: Singletude | March 20, 2009 at 05:21 PM
What an excellent analogy! A very simple way of illustrating something that is very important. Reminds me of that quote from Buddha: "What you think, you become".
Posted by: Julian | March 30, 2009 at 03:55 PM
Julian - Thanks for commenting. I agree: it's a simple statement that illustrates a big idea. I love the Buddha quote. Thanks for sharing it.
Posted by: positively present | March 31, 2009 at 10:39 AM
Singletude - I'm glad you like the blog. :)
Posted by: positively present | March 31, 2009 at 10:39 AM