Of Positivity, Optimism and Sanguineness

     A professor once announced to his students that he was taking a surprise test.  As they waited for the test to begin, he handed out the question paper, with the side with text facing down as usual.  After handing them all out, he asked the students to turn the page and begin.  To everyone's surprise, there were no questions, just a black dot in the center of the page.  Noticing the surprise on everyone's face, the professor said, "I want you to write what you see there."

     The perplexed students began working on the bizarre task. Once they were done, the professor took all the answer papers and began reading each one of them aloud to the whole class.  Every student described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. After reading it all, the professor said to the quiet class:

"I am not going to grade on you this, I just wanted to give you something to think about.  No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot - and the same happens in our lives. We have a white paper to observe and enjoy, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a gift given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate - nature renewing itself everyday, our friends around us, the job that provides our livelihood, the miracles we see everyday.

However we insist on focusing only on the dark spots - the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend, and so on.

The dark spots are very small compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds.

Take your eyes away from the black spots in your life.  Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you. Be happy and live a life filled with LOVE,"

     I read this story recently. So simple to understand, yes? But is it as easy to practise? We don't hesitate before throwing free advice to everyone who doesn't even ask for it: "Be positive in life!", "Don't compare yourself with others, you wil just be disappointed, you don't know what they had to struggle with".

     But when it comes to us, "Look you don't know what I'm going through, okay? If you had to go through what I have, you would have understood!"

     Why are most of us so good at preaching optimism but bad at practising it? Have you ever begun a Monday on a positive note, right after you open your eyes from sleep? Isn't the first thing that comes to your mind the most disturbing of all? Now if you start your day on a note like this, how can you expect the rest of your day to be good?

     Expectation.. That is another advice that is most commonly given - "Do not expect, you will never be disappointed." But is it possible to not expect anything at all? A slight bout of expectation always exists, followed by the sinking feeling of disappointment.

    So why are you reading this article that is just telling you things you already know and feel every day? Why not just stop and focus on the little joy you have left in life? Guess what, you can have more than a little joy. Ever heard of the term 'train of thought'? Can you take a guess at who the porter for that train might be? You are. Believe me, you can choose which thoughts you let on board that train. Some amount of bad thought is bound to come on board, but it is the power of the good thoughts, which does not let the bad thoughts go beyond the first halt that helps you see clearly. And when you see clearly, things get sorted automatically. You begin to see the right path ahead, and what follows, are the good things in life; the best outcomes of your actions.

     Now this might seem to you as another free advice, but trust me, it is being practised by yours truly. So what do you say, let's fill that train with only those thoughts that we want, and kick the rest back to the platform?