Positivity

A dear friend calls me: 'Little Miss Sunshine'...

People often say: 'I don't know how you are so positive'... and to be honest, neither do I?

Is positivity something we are born with?

Is positivity something we can cultivate?

Is it a case of 'mind over matter'?

Whatever it is, I am very... very blessed to have it in abundance 🙏✨️

Don't get me wrong... it's not 'fireworks' all the time! If you read my previous blog posts you saw the 'shadow' side.

One thing I do feel is that positivity, in it's purest form, comes from within, from my soul, and is 'powered' and supported by the wonderful Spirit 🦅 ✨️ 🪶

I am not talking about 'toxic positivity' though, where one convinces or even tricks themself to be positive all the time and at all costs... no! 

It is very important... vital even... that we feel all spectrum of emotions! Yes, even the ones we label as unpleasant ones... those that bring out our 'shadow side', those that leave us on the floor crying our eyes out.

Yes! Because all those emotions are important and have a role to play... they can even be 'cleansing' if you learn to accept them, honour them, give them the space required until the storm passes and gives way to a fresh, clearer state of mind 🌬

So... taking all the above into consideration, can EVERYONE be positive?

You will find articles about all sorts, from genetics to geographical locations and the predisposition to being more positive or negative... I am not even going down this path! Whilst incredibly educational and informative, sometimes it is nice to keep things simple and light and that is what you will get at Finding the Middle Road.

My belief is that YES! Every single person carries that positivity deep inside them. But like a little seedling that has just been sowed, it needs nourturing... it needs feeding 🌱💧

How do I do that then? How do I manage to pick myself up, dust myself off and keep going with a smile on my face?

Let's start with back to basics, simple terms... 

As my beloved husband once said: 'Eyes are on our face to keep looking forward, not in the back of our head...!' 😅

I also truly believe that this experience of life is a precious gift and it can be up to us to 'open and cherish it' or to 'rip the wrapping paper open' as quickly as we can and move on to the next gift... except... we don't actually know when the next gift will be given to us...

So...

Can we learn to pause and appreciate the beauty in everyday?

Can we pause the treadmill of life and step off it for a few seconds to take in some air?

Can we be grateful for everything we have other than constantly chasing what we think will make us happy?

The pressures of modern living can be overwhelming, life is full of ups and downs... but I learnt that there is light and shadow to everything. Like Day and Night, Summer and Winter, the Sun and the Moon 🌗

It is up to us to develop an 'attitude of gratitude'. 

Think about going to the gym... you would not start lifting the heaviest weight on day one. Ideally you would start slowly and build your strength up nice and steadily.

It is the same with the mind, positive thinking and gratitude... they are all 'muscles' than can be developed.

You could perhaps start with a simple thing such as looking at the person that served you a coffee, smile and say a heartfelt 'Thank you, have a good day!' (instead of keeping your head down, looking at your phone and walking away... you know what I am talking about!)

And when you have your nice drink, pause, feel the warm cup in your hands, get lost in the aroma and the delicious taste. Spare a mental second of gratitude to everyone involved in the process of that coffee, from the bean farmers to the barista.

Oh.... I can hear you.... 'Really Sara? I don't have time for that nonsense, I just want to down my coffee and get on with the million tasks ahead! I'm too busy, life is busy!' 

But you do have time.... you really do! And the more you adopt and introduce these microscopic pauses into your daily life the easier, better and more magical it gets ✨️

Take my word for it!

Don't wait for a big wake up call ⏰️

Wake up nicely, gently and slowly 💤

Sara 💙

Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.

Roy T. Bennett