Focus on the Positive

I used to suffer from SAD, seasonal affective disorder.  When the gloomy winter days appeared, with days and weeks of smog and snow, I felt depressed, exhausted, and miserable.  As I focused on the grey skies, the cold weather, and the snow-covered streets, I was sad and unhappy.

Then I discovered the power of meditation and gratitude.

As I learned how to meditate, I recognized that I was choosing negative thoughts that caused me to feel unhappy.  I also realized that I was overlooking the beauty around me and focusing on things that I perceived to be negative. 

Now, I realize that some are medically depressed during winter and need light therapy and sometimes they need medication to help.  But others, like me, become unhappy because of the thoughts they choose to rerun in their minds. 

Today, I am as happy in the winter as in the summer.  I rejoice in the gift of snow and in its exquisite beauty.  I savor each cold day, as I enjoy hot soups, a warm fireplace, and central heat.  I thank God continually for these blessings. 

I rejoice when I see the coral clouds and the slivers of iridescent golden light of our desert sunsets.  I appreciate the blessings of living in a place with changing four seasons which delight the senses.  I enjoy the winter blizzards as much as the first blooms of spring, the explosion of flowers during the summer, and the amazing beauty of autumn leaves. I am richly blessed.

We all have winter seasons in our life that require us to focus on the positive if we are to be happy.  Illness, financial reverses, loss, and other trials can distract us from remembering how truly blessed we are.  As we release negative thoughts and notice the good things in life, we can find peace, even when life is difficult.

May you find peace today and always as you focus you the blessings and beauties of life.

&copy Carol Brown