Half Empty? Half Full?

Today is Positive Day in the Bloggosphere. Jen over at Dust Bunny Hostage and her Diva Daughter came up with this positively great idea. Can you ever have too much positiveness in your life?

It's not always easy to be positive. Sometimes I find it very, very hard. Being a positive-thinking person doesn't come naturally to me. But then again, thinking negatively doesn't either. I guess you could say I'm somewhere in the middle. Maybe right in the middle of the half full/half empty glass.

I'm always envious of the naturally positive thinkers, though. I know two that come immediately to mind. My Auntie Theresa and my Auntie Cindy a/k/a to me as Cynthia. I'm not quite sure how they do it, but you just about can't force them to be negative. Seriously. And that really and truly amazes me and makes me want to have what the positive spirit that they have.

And I know negative thinkers. Actually, quite a few. No matter what good thing life brings their way, they manage to find something negative in the good thing. I find that very discouraging.

Being a mom to my almost 21-year-old and my almost 17-year-old has without a doubt taught me the most about being a positive thinker. To me, being positive thinking person really means turning the other cheek. Or as I often say, making lemonade out of your lemons. No doubt, everyone gets lemons at some time or another.

Being negative is just no fun. It's just not. It robs you of the joy that God wants us to have every single day. Not that every single day is a big bowl of cherries or a perfectly rosy picture. But why not try to find the good in the negative things. Even if it's just ever so slight.

Thinking negatively also takes up a lot of energy. You can quickly try to think of some little something positive in a negative situation, but thinking negatively saps your energy the whole entire day. It's like a gigantic weight you carry on your shoulders.

So to celebrate Positive Day, here are some things that I'm feeling positive about.

1. It's raining in Georgia. My yard and my flowers and all the trees were very thirsty.

2. My migraine headache is subsiding. Now, I've had it most of the day, but it's getting better.

3. My house is clean.

4. My hair is growing out from the short cut I got last fall.

5. I cleaned out my purse, so now I can find everything. Except my cell phone.

6. My Southern Living magazines that I ordered and paid for in April have started arriving on time.

7. My family and their health and happiness. This is the one I struggle with a lot. I tend to worry about this one more than I should.

Now, if I made a list of the things I'm feeling negative about, it could be quite lengthy. Here's one for starters.

1. The proposed government healthcare.

2. Violence.

3. Traffic and rude drivers.

4. Car insurance.

5. The crumbs on the floor I stepped on to get to my computer.

6. Knowing my basement looks like a tornado blew through it. No, really.

7. That I'm not a better manager of my time.

(Y'all know that I put my lists in no particular order, nor do I set a limit on how many things I put on it. When it's time to stop, it's time to stop.)

Looking at my negative list, there are some things I can't do anything at all about. Some things I can change or fix or make better.

Don't you just love that Serenity Prayer? I think that sums it up for me. To me being positive is having the courage and smarts to change what you can, accept and pray about what you can't and the wisdom to know the difference.

Is your glass half empty or half full? What do you do to be a more positive thinker? How does it affect you when you're thinking negatively? Come on. Curious minds want to know.

Till tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of this Positive Day.