How to stay positive...

This is possibly one of the most important qualities one can cultivate. Like many of us, I am sure, I can think of a time when it has been difficult to stay positive. In fact, something happened just yesterday.

I was pulling my car out of the drive, which is quite narrow and therefore requires a little skill and patience to negotiate. So I’m taking it slow.

Suddenly this huge 4x4 comes up the hill and blares its horn at me, as if to say that I am hogging the road, just because I am inching, carefully, out of my drive.

Up to that point I had been very positive and relaxed that day (okay it was only 8am, but still). In fact, I had promised myself that I would stay calm, and not become stressed. The Worldwide Happiness Project was at the forefront of my mind, and I was pretty content overall.
However, this 4x4 comes storming out of nowhere and...

When this kind of thing happens, your entire perspective on the day can be affected. You can get to work and feel peeved at the slightest annoyance, just because someone has got to you earlier.

Staying positive in these situations is crucial. Banning negative thoughts from your mind is absolutely essential here. If one comes up, let it just occur, and give it no added significance. It is just a thought, you are human.

Let it be.

Let yourself be. Cultivate a feeling of simplicity. When the world throws events at you that threaten to complicate matters and darken your day, make every effort to get back to yourself.
Breathe, and concentrate on your breath entering and leaving your body. Remember that you are here today, that you were yesterday, and that there is every likelihood you will be here tomorrow. You will not change, this living, breathing thing that is you will remain.

Remember, above all, that there are some things that you cannot change. And you should be thankful for this. Because this means that you had no part to play in their existence.
For everything that threatens, bothers, and cajoles then, just say:

This too shall pass...

So, the 4x4 moved on. It was an event I could not predict, an action I had no part in. It passed.
If we need hope in this world, when things go wrong, we need to bear in mind that negativity will grow, and it will enter our lives. However, unless we force it to, it will not stay.

So cultivate this awareness of yourself. Promote happy thoughts. And, for your own sake, just remember that nothing is permanent, and that includes the feelings you get when some huge 4x4 sneaks up on you at eight in the morning.

Until next time, stay happy.