The Beauty of Positive Thinking

“Even perfect days can end in rain and though it’s pouring down, I see You through the clouds, shining on my face…” – Francesca Battiselli, Beautiful, Beautiful

I was running errands the other day in preparation for the “Polar Vortex” that was getting ready to hit. It was cold and windy already, and I’d been driving around all day. I was ready to finish up and head home to spend some quality time with my jammies and Netflix, but I had one last stop to make. I came to a stoplight and, since everyone else had the same idea as me, there were at least 20 other cars in front of me. I tried to think of something, anything, that would get my mind off the thought of bashing my head into the window as entertainment. I finally decided to just look out the window. What I saw was pretty boring. There was a cluster of people waiting for the bus, a few kids playing soccer at an elementary school, a teenager coming out of the library with a stack of books; nothing out of the ordinary. But then, I looked up. Right in front of me was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen. On one side of the sky, it was a very pale blue that blended in with sea foam green and butter yellow. Together they blended easily with lavender, pale pink, magenta, and blood orange; I got goose bumps just looking at it. I quickly dumped my purse out on the passenger seat and found my phone. I took at least 10 pictures before I sat back to look at them. They were so stunning that I could literally feel myself getting lost in them. It wasn’t until I rested my cheek on my hand that I noticed something. I was wearing sunglasses. I took them off and looked at the sunset again; it wasn’t as beautiful as before. It was still gorgeous, but the colors weren’t as enhanced as before. Quickly, I rubbed the lenses on my sweater and looked again; nothing changed. Why wasn’t I feeling the same way about this sunset? And then it hit me.

I was looking at the world with rose-colored glasses.

I’ve always been a bit of an optimist, you could say. Whenever my friend is going through a breakup, I’m the first person to say “You’ll find someone better!” If someone didn’t do well on an exam, I say “That’s okay! It’s just one grade! You’ll get it next time!” When a friend is stressed out, I’m always there with an open ear and suggestions to make everything work. Granted, I don’t always take my own advice, but I always seem to find at least one upside to every downside. Sometimes, it’s frustrating to be the only positive person in a world full of negative, negative, negative. I often find myself saying “Why can’t we all just be happy and slide down rainbows together and ride unicorns through fields of cotton candy?!” Wouldn’t the world be a better place if people would stop focusing on what could go wrong and started thinking about all of the things that could go right?

Now, I’m not saying that I only see good things. I know that there is serious persecution of the Catholic Church and that our rights are being infringed upon by President Obama. I know that there are children dying in Syria and Egypt because no one knows what they want in their government. I know that not all stories have happy endings in the traditional sense. But do I let those facts stop me from living my life in the most positive way possible? Absolutely not. While I understand that there are bad things in the world, I’m not going to let those things weight me down and upset me. Why think about bombs when you can think about Mickey Mouse shaped balloons?

Young children are often remarked as the ones with bottomless optimism. Shouldn’t we all strive to be like that? If you’re surrounded by bad things constantly, then you’ll never be happy. It’s good to be informed about current events, but if all you gain from that is an angry heart, then what have you to live for?  We have to wake up every day and choose to be positive and happy. What’s the point of living if we aren’t happy?