look for the good in life

Thanksgiving weekend of 2002 could have been the worst weekend of my life. If I listened to the doctors and their prognosis, it may very well have been devastating.

That is the weekend that my daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with a life threatening disease. A disease that does not allow her to process all of her amino acids so she cannot have much protein. A disease that prompted the doctors to say that she would probably not live 6 months.

This weekend (Thanksgiving 2007), I had the privilege of watching her blow out candles on her 5th birthday cake. See, the doctors do not always know what they are talking about.

In the past 5 years, this little lady has been a blessing to our family and touched so many lives. She has a smile as big as Texas and loves life. She does not know that she has a disease. She only knows that “today I can get up and play”. She is not concerned about what will happen tomorrow or if/when her disease will get worse, she only knows that “today I am loved”.

Our family could have taken that situation and said “why did it happen to me/us?”. Instead, we have taken her as a blessing today. One of God’s little people put down here to be with us for as long as he wants to share her.

If we had been looking for the bad part of this, it would have been very easy to find all kinds of unhappy aspects on which to concentrate. We could have expanded all of the pain misery that she has had to endure. Or we can dwell on all the happiness she has brought to this world.

It is great to watch a child enjoy life. To laugh, run and play without a thought about what may lay in her future. To see her chase the cats, play in the water sprinkler or ride her bike.

Not to be a pessimist but none of us have any guarantee of a long life. All of us may have the opportunity to have something remove us from this world. We need to live our life to the fullest and enjoy the present.

We should all take an example from the way kids play. How they enjoy their lives before we train them to become worriers and strivers. Before they learn to live in the future and not enjoy the present.

Wayne Dyer has said that he has a suit in his closet that “has no pockets”. This is to remind him that the last suit that he will wear (to his funeral) will not need pockets to hold any money or any of his possessions. He is trying to tell us that we must live in the now.

I ask you, have you ever seen a hearse in a funeral pulling a U-Haul trailer full of possessions. Have you ever heard someone on their death bed say that they should have spent more time at the office or on the job?

If we look inside for our joy and happiness, it will make our lives something that will be a lot easier to enjoy.

You find what you look for so look for the joyand happiness in the situation. Look for the half full glass instead of the half empty one.

If you look for the bad things in life, you will find them. But, if you look for the joy and happiness, that is what you will find.

Technorati Tags: gratitude list, life is good, look for the good in life

Each day we have the opportunity to start a new adventure in life. We can decide if we are going to have a good day or a bad day, it is our choice.

I have a grand daughter that has a life threatening disease that may shorten her life. But, to look at her, she is too happy to even consider this. Granted, she is only 5 years old and does not understand her condition. But that is the way we should all live our lives. To enjoy it to the fullest.

Wayne Dyer states that we should not plan more than six months down the road. Anything more is just being presumptuous. Not to be a pessimist but, why do we think we will be around more than that.

Looking way down the road does not allow us to enjoy the beauty of the day. We begin making plans that may or may not come to pass while missing out on what is going on right now.

How many people on their death bed do you think say “I wish I had spent more time planning my life out”? Most people, when they come to the end of their time on Earth are sad that they did not do more, experience more, play more, love more. You get the picture. They would like to have experienced more of life rather than staying in their heads making their plans.

Last night, I watched that little girl playing with her big sister. They ran and climbed and laughed and slid down the slide till they were almost exhausted. Their goal was to enjoy the playground to the fullest.

What is it about humans that as we grow older we forget what it is to enjoy playing? We cannot remember what it is to run and laugh and have fun. We are too busy trying to make a living instead of “smelling the roses”.

Each of us have the opportunity each day to enjoy life. No, I think that it is a responsibility to enjoy life. There is way too much emphasis on how bad the world is that we overlook how good it is.

I would suggest that you stop watching the “10 O’clock news” just before going to bed. Stop putting all the sad and depressing images into your head just before trying to go to sleep. It just stands to reason that the last thing you put into your mind at night will take up part of your thoughts during the night.

Could it be that watching the news just before going to sleep might contribute to not being able to get a good nights sleep?

Start taking advice from the children at play. They will run and jump and play as long as allowed. And, if they fall down and skin a knee, they will be right back at it in a few minutes. But “adults” would be looking for a lawyer to sue the person that owned the playground.

If you allow yourself, you can have a fantastic life just by changing your outlook. Change what you look at and what you look for.

If you look for things to get better, they will. That is because you begin to notice the things you are looking for as they become more important.

Your life truely can can be as good as you allow it to be!

Technorati Tags: Gratitude, Happiness, life is good, look for the good in life