06/20/2015 Previous Facebook post
I do not want negativity in my life anymore. I am sad. I am sad for the fear I feel in my heart. I am sad for the end result all this behavior will bring. I want to be optimistic. I want to see through the clouds of error and anger that seem so much more prevalent today than they were even a few years ago. I want to believe that there is still good in the world, that people still exercise good and righteous judgment. I need to know that people are still full of wisdom, that the majority seek out truth before they mete out justice. I don't want to read comments or articles that promote nothing more than the what about me syndrome. I don't want to be around people who see nothing more than themselves and their own problems yet do not seek for a solution. You drain me. You drain my happiness. No more. I choose to see the good in my life despite hardships. I choose to see the good that comes out of tragedy without yielding to popular demand to rise up in hate and revenge and post things that promote the same. I choose to see the sun through the clouds. I choose to be better, to do better, to build upon faith and good works. I hope those of us who are just as tired will rise up and spread the good. We are taught to let our lights shine, let us do that. Help each other. Love one another. Serve one another. Do not let fear or anger divide us. A house divided will fall.Please read the whole article as I've cut out a lot with excerpts below. If you have the time, of course.
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The Spirit of Optimism
”…I see so many good people everywhere—and there’s so much of good in them. And the world is good. We have every reason to be optimistic in this world. Tragedy is around, yes. Problems everywhere, yes. … You can’t, you don’t, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen.
… notwithstanding the reformation we see in the lives of many people, we are prone to emphasize the problems and disregard the progress.
…I have little doubt that many of us are troubled with fears concerning ourselves. We are in a period of stress across the world. There are occasionally hard days for each of us. Do not despair. Do not give up. Look for the sunlight through the clouds.
…Of course there are times of sorrow. Of course there are hours of concern and anxiety. We all worry. But the Lord has told us to lift our hearts and rejoice. I see so many people … who seem never to see the sunshine, but who constantly walk with storms under cloudy skies. Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism…
Let us not partake of the negative spirit so rife in our times. There is so much of the sweet and the decent and the beautiful to build upon…
In a dark and troubled hour the Lord said to those He loved: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
…I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we “accentuate the positive.” I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his course.
What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: “Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.
… Lift your eyes. Stand on your feet. Say a few words of appreciation and love to the Lord. Be positive … Nurture your testimonies. Walk in righteousness, and the Lord will bless you and prosper you, and you will be a happy and wonderful people.”
