Always Remember the Glass

Always Remember the Glass

“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens; not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life.  A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes.  It is a catalyst…a spark that creates extraordinary results.”  Author Unknown

The mind, they say, is a battlefield.  Many a battle is won or lost in the mind.  I’ve been on both the losing side and the winning side.  I’ve won a few and I’ve lost a few.  And, I’ve come to a conclusion:

Winning is more fun!

It’s what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.  It all has to do with how I see the glass.  Is it half empty or is it half full?

Always remember the glass.

Seeing the glass half empty is synonymous with negativity and pessimism.  Seeing it half full, with positivity and optimism. 

Pessimism

       loses

          hands

               down.

Having practiced both concepts for going on half a century now, I’ve learned a few things.  Call it the voice of experience.

The times I’ve spent looking upon my circumstances with hopelessness and despair sent me head long into depression.  I could not see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Everyone was out to get me.  The future looked dark, dreary and bleak.  I was bombarded with thoughts like, “Why go on?  If life is like this, it’s not worth it.  Let’s face it…things are never going to get better.  It’ll always be this way.  What’s the use?  There’s no hope for my future.” Every thought that could have crossed my mind was rolling across the movie screen of my mind like an old fashioned movie projector.  I’d become so accustomed to looking at life from a negative mind set, it came naturally to me.

It’s all I knew.

Several years ago I use to get some little pamphlets in the mail called, “Plus” by Norman Vincent Peale.  They became a real “plus” in my life.  Each of them contained success stories of various people’s lives.  I found that when I read them, I was deeply encouraged.  Little by little and day by day my life and outlook began a metamorphous into a beautiful butterfly.  My circumstances were the same.  I still had to deal with this thing called life; both the good and the bad.   But…I began to take on a positive outlook.  I no longer saw life as bleak and dreary.  If these people had successes, so could I, I told myself.  With each and every issue that came, the dark cloud over my heart and mind began to lift and shift. 

Tranformation.

Light began coursing through my darkness a little at a time and hope began to make its way through the cracks and crevices of my mind.  I began to realize our thoughts, whether negative or positive, impact us far more powerfully than what any of us realize.  Seeing the glass half empty casts shadows on our world and propels us into a deep darkness.

And a

     cycle of defeat begins…

Likewise, seeing the glass half full and being filled with optimism casts luminous light upon our worlds causing us to face life with hope and divine energy.

I found that how we choose to see the circumstances in our life is really a choice. 

Always remember the glass. 

None of us were promised a rose garden.  Sometimes life seems down right unfair.  But the battle that happens to us doesn’t matter near as much as how we react to the battle. 

We can allow our battles to make us bitter or better. 

Keep it light.  Remember to laugh.  Laugh at your circumstance.  Laugh at yourself.  If you can’t find anything to laugh about, go rent a funny movie and escape for a couple of hours. 

Start a chain reaction.

Begin linking positive thought with positive thought.  Smile.  You’ll feel better, and so will the world around you.  As you travel down this road called life:

Always remember the glass.

Reviews

[An Ordinary Woman]

We can allow our battles to make us bitter or better. ... A huge message there as I've learned personally.

I really like this hopeful and inspiring piece. I'll have to refer to it on "those" days... the hard days when I struggle. It's always nice to be able to fall back on the warm words from a friend.

Excellent writing, Friend, I love ya bunches!

[Tina-Sue]

The battle within always rages on.
Sometimes we go to one side or the other, how long we stay depends on so much, least of all our thoughts.

Thank you for sharing this. It is very uplifting, contemplative, and just a delight.

[Valentine]

The closer I get to my Father in Heaven ..the more I learn from life when it is a glass that is half full..I think I was taught the most from Him when my glass was empty and I was down and out..nice advice..God bless..Valentine

[None]

This is really great and can help so many...they now know the secrets to success, thanks to you. I started reading positive thinking books in high school after some some challenging times. I treasure the things I've learned. I always have to run back and read to remind and instruct what to allow into my mind.
I really like your story and your words: "None of us were promised a rose garden. Sometimes life seems down right unfair. But the battle that prevails doesn't matter half as much as how we react to the battle." I know we have to surround ourselves with positive thinkers--or convert the negative ones! :)
This is very inspirational and full of hope and kindness.

[Lydia Shutter]

Abraham Lincoln said, "A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." and that is so true. We can decide how happy we want to be. There are always reasons to be happy if we CHOOSE to see them. Nice collection of quotes here to bring home your point. Good work. Lydia

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716, a German polymath; discoverer of the binary system, basis of virtually all modern computer architectures) was also accredited, in philosophy, for promoting the idea of optimism. He concluded that our universe is, in a restricted sense, the best possible one God could have made and therefore, all things were meant to work out for the greater good.

However, one paradox sometimes associated with optimism is that the only thing an optimist cannot view as positive is a pessimist. Conversely, pessimism, as it acts as a check to recklessness, may even then be viewed in a positive light. Personally, I prefer a full glass at all times.

Great thought provoking composition, uniquely stylised and presented. Excellent work!

God's Blessing
Phillozofee

[AK]

I completely agree, we must remain positive in all things. Well written and nicely captured!

[Beautifully Tragic xPoe..]

I think I needed this today. An inspirational read, good message. Thanks for sharing.

Great Write,
Rayne

[Brenda Sue]

I love the way you have edited this. Great job.

[Brenda Sue]

Oh I totally agree. Great write and wise words. I love it.