Do I wear clear, rose or dung coloured eye glasses when I look around at the world, other people and myself? I can be full of self-pity over my circumstances or I can take a step back and take stock of all that is right in my world, all that I can be grateful for. The effect is almost like waving a magic wand because my feelings can change from morose to joyful when I can be thankful for the fact that I am alive, I can see and hear and walk.
The perennial test, to decide whether a person is a pessimist or an optimist is to show them a glass of water and ask them to describe it. They will answer either that the glass is half full or half empty. This exercise seems ridiculous at first glance but our answers really are telling and can give us a wake-up call.
Words, especially descriptive words are powerful. What comes out of our mouthes really does help bring sunshine or shadows into our lives and those around us. Even without applying cognitive therapy, by simply catching ourselves using overly negative adjectives, we really can change our emotional reactions to life
Gratitude and thankfulness are like removing dung coloured glasses and seeing reality in a whole new way, through clear glass. Words of praise, words of gratitude shape our response to life. Let’s pay attention to the words that come out of our mouths, especially to our children. We are helping shape not only our future but the future of the next generation.
Words have the power to flow like liquid sunshine into the shadows of our hearts.
