Accentuate the Positive

My friend Tina and I had a long running conversation via email about being positive. Being one that doesn't shy away from controversial topics, books, movies - and wanting always to learn - I recently watched "The Secret" a movie based on the book by Rhonda Byrne. The majority of the content was self-serving to say the least, and chock full of new age philosophies to say the worst.

The movie did cause me to think on this verse from Proverbs 23:7 that says As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. I took this to mean that we play these mental tapes in our minds of who we are - and then we live it out - truth or lie, as a somewhat self-fulfilling prophecy.

There is something to be said for having a positive outlook. Negative people are such a downer. I also know how susceptible our feeble minds are to the power of suggestion, making either perspective contagious. I like to surround myself with optimistic, yet realistic people.

With that in mind, I have been trying to accentuate the positive in respect to my marriage, and how I view my husband. I have been trying intentionally to see the good things - and notice the bad things a little less. Having PMS this week made this task a bit more difficult. In the last 24 hours, I have found some things about Travis that were endearing to me. First, last night on our way home from the big extended family Christmas dinner, I put on the "country legends" station, because he enjoys it, and I heard him singing with Anne Murray to Shadows in the Moonlight. He has such a nice voice, so I enjoyed listening to him. Then, this morning, our handicapped neighbor called and woke us up asking if we could come help, because he broke a pipe and having had a stroke a few years ago, so he had only one good hand to control the water that was spewing everywhere. When I woke Travis, he threw on pants, and was out the door.

The more we focus on these kinds of things, the more we seem to notice them. I am not sure about the "Law of Attraction" but I have tried and proven in my own life that being positive seems contagious.