What if we looked for the good more of the time?

 That sound you may have just heard was a yet another blog popping into cyberspace. I ask myself why (something I do a lot of, without a great deal of value for the effort). There seem to be enough ideas floating around the world wide web. Sometimes I think there are too many already: There are so many ideas that the Universe is getting crowded. There must be a plug around here somewhere to let some ideas out. It’s filling up fast, so if you plan on having any ideas you’ll have to wait until February when we have an opening.

I guess it’s important to me to throw mine in the mix, both for myself and for the mix. The mix could use as much positivity at it can get.

Yes, the problems of this world can certainly appear to be insurmountable. I don’t deny they exist. I also believe it has probably always been that way. For instance, I recently came across this quote: “Our earth is degenerate in these latter days; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; and the end of the world is evidently approaching.” The interesting thing about this quote is that it was found on an Assyrian clay tablet; dated 2800 B.C. Apparently there’ve always been things to fret about, especially if one was looking for them. And apparently there’ve always been opportunities to fret about them publically.

And there’ve probably always been hopeless optimists like me. I stand accused. I believe that this world is still transformable, because I know that people are transformable. I see it every day. I see cynicism being transformed into hope. I see futility and frustration and fear being transformed into fulfillment and fruitful action and freedom. I see people making different choices, reaching out, asking for help, offering help. I see people caring, sharing, feeling and healing on all levels.

Call me crazy, but I believe people are inherently good. And that’s exactly what makes personal and global transformation possible. We may hear more about the bad, but there are countless folks doing fantastically positive things on this planet and in our communities, most of which we’ll never hear about. There is an incredible abundance of love and compassion and generosity in this world. We tend to see it after tragic events like 9-11 (my birthday), which tells me it’s in each and every one of us, all the time. We see it more in those times because we’re looking for it. We need it! But we couldn’t see it at all, in those circumstances or ever, if it wasn’t already there.

What if we looked for the good more of the time? I’m not talking about being Pollyanna. I’m not saying, “It’s all good”. I’m saying that whatever is happening, we can look for the good; we can use it for good, for love, for healing, for increasing our awareness. It’s a choice. When our “background music” becomes more about negativity, complaining, resenting and worrying, everything that happens seems to provide more evidence that the world is going to the dogs; everything gives us more to complain about. If we were to look for the good more of the time, I imagine we’d see more of that. And I imagine we’d also be in a more positive, grateful and productive mode in order to take effective action to change things, if that’s what we chose to do.

How do we do that? That’s what this blog will be about. We are each a unique and indispensible ingredient in the mix and as we become more skillful in expressing our deepest values and intentions we continue to sweeten it. If that’s all we remember, that’s more than enough for now.