our garden

Your life is your garden, your thoughts are the seeds. If your life isn't awesome, you've been watering the weeds.--Terry Prince

This quote reminds me that we are responsible for our own happiness. We can't always control our circumstances, but it is always up to us to control what we think about those circumstances. I can't say positive thinking is always easy, but that is what we need to do to see our garden thrive while tolerating or removing the weeds.

May your garden grow!

pressure and friction

I came across this proverb: no pressure, no diamonds

Here's another: A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.--Chinese Proverb

Our struggles help us to polish ourselves and become the best we can be. I still wish the pressure and friction could be a little easier. I am grateful for what I have learned. I am grateful for so many great things in my life. I will focus on those and deal with the pressure as best I can. Wishing the same for you.

realistic vs optimistic

1st off, you couldn't pay me enough to be pessimistic.  it is not a valuable way to think.  daily life is miserable.  who wants to be miserable?  i find some people don't know any other way to see things.  i wish i could change their minds.  i've tried.  it's futile.  i think pessimists think i'm 'cute' or naive.

i am forever an optimist.  i look for the silver lining in every situation.  in awful situations, like death and destruction, i can only say that those things should help us feel grateful for everything or anything else good in our lives.

i am questioning realism vs optimism.  when does optimism get in the way of being realistic?  does my belief in miracles prevent me from seeing the truth right in front of me?

yes, my MS has gotten worse over the last 19 years.  statistics say it will continue to get worse.  that does not mean it MUST get worse.  i hope the worsening will stop.  i hope that my symptoms improve.  i even hope a miracle will occur and my body will function like an average 42-year-old.

i live with reality.  i learn to do things a new way when i lose another ability.  i even try to prepare for the bad things that COULD happen.  the true realists in my life help me to be prepared.

so, i will continue to be optimistic tempered by realism.  hope keeps me from being depressed about the future.  finding the good in each moment makes life enjoyable.  i believe life is meant to be enjoyed. 

i'm sending out positive thoughts that all of us feel a little optimistic every day!

set an example

“Nothing has a greater, longer lasting impression upon another person than the awareness that someone has transcended suffering, has transcended circumstance, and is embodying and expressing a value that inspires and ennobles and lifts life.”

...from  7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey 

i hope that i offer such an example.  i encourage you to look at your circumstance in the same way.  MS is good for some things.  it's helps me to find the bright side.

happy new year!

here's to a year full of happy moments!