My mother-in-law shared an article with me by Rachel Macy Stafford called "Notice The Good" and I would like to share it here. I tend to be a cynical, jaded, glass-half-empty kind of person and I am trying my best to NOT be those things anymore. Partly because I have a daughter now and I want her to grow up in an environment that is filled with happy energy and partly because it is better for ME, mentally and physically, to be more upbeat and positive. With so many animals in our house and now the baby, there are some days that are just utter craziness. I have rabbit poop pellets in my bathtub, the dogs just HAD to pee on the brand new rug, the baby is entertaining herself by "reading" paper that she pulled out of the recycling bin, the cat boxes haven't been changed yet, one dog won't stop itching from allergies and kept me up last night with "thump, thump, thumping", the wild rabbits insist on laying a nest in a yard with 6 dogs, the chickens are eating their eggs and so I have to go buy some, etc, etc.
So I am training myself to let all of that go, realize that it doesn't really matter and that people have WAY more important and worse things to deal with than some rabbit poop, and to be thankful for all of the positive things that I have in my life. For instance, last evening I was trying to make my dinner, feed the baby, make and feed the dogs their dinner, all on my own because my husband was working late. I knew the baby wanted to sleep, but I had to keep her awake until we left to pick him up at work. So I was a little stressed. As soon as I put the baby in the car she fell asleep and since I had some time to kill, I decided to drive out through the country. It was a beautiful evening with an awesome sunset with lots of interesting clouds and colors. I drove by red barns, stone farmhouses, sheep and horses in the fields, pumpkins at the farmstands, and RELAXED. Just noticing my surroundings and acknowleding that I am lucky to live in such a place made me feel calm and happy. I then stopped into the local dairy to treat myself to an ice cream while the baby still slept in the car seat. By the time I picked up my husband and he asked how I was (expecting a negative response), I could honestly say that I was "GOOD".
Stafford's article talks about "noticing the good". That is what I did last night and it made me feel much better, so I want to pass on the advice. It can be applied to all aspects of life - parenting, relationships, work, and all the common activities in the day.