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Friday, March 12, 2010

Positivity against the odds

In our present economy - and now they are talking about a 'double-dip' recession - we all need to cut down our expenditure. Prices keep rising while, for the the majority of us, our incomes are static. So we all have less disposable income.

This doesn't need to be depressing. Let the economy be 'depressed' all on its own. Let's rather adopt a positive and generous outlook - positivity and happiness play an enormous role in our physical, as well as our mental, health.

So, let's look at being positive. Materially, we have some, if not all, of: a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, a roof over our heads. These give physical comfort and respite.
Emotionally, we have: friends, family, children - all of these people need us and enrich our lives with love.
Spiritually, we have faith, hope and charity.

We have so much to be thankful for, we can afford to be generous.
Materially, we can clear out the cupboards - stuff we haven't used or worn for the last year can be donated to charity. Someone somewhere is desperately in need of the things we've had stashed away so long that we probably forgot we even had them. There is something about de-cluttering and simplifying our lives which is enormously satisfying.

Emotionally, we can clear out negative feelings. There is no point in holding on to anger and resentments. The only person negative emotions hurt is you! The person you resent or are angry with probably doesn't even know that you feel that way, and if they do they more than likely don't care! Forgive and move on. (Forgetting may take a while.) Close your eyes, take a deep breath and as you exhale, let go of anger and resentment. Letting go of negative emotion frees up energy for some more positive project.

We can practice kindness (a form of charity) in our daily lives - it doesn't have to cost us financially. We can help someone by supplying a shoulder to cry on, a friendly ear or by giving sympathy, empathy and moral support. I've said before that a friendly smile or a hug improves the self esteem of the recipient, it also gives the giver a spiritual lift.

Have a great weekend. Enjoy being with your loved ones. And if you are alone - for whatever reason - use the weekend to relax and rest, you never know when someone might need you.

4 comments:

Sparx said...

Brilliant attitude - I agree whole-heartedly.

I also love that you've put your recipes online... did you create all those blogs in one day really?

Anyway, will have a look through your veggie one now!

Sphinx said...

Sparx!!! Welcome to my blog! I am so thrilled that you took the time to visit me. Thank you.
Yes, I created all the recipe collection blogs in one day - I already had all the info posted on this blog, so it was just a copy-paste operation. I update the recipe collections once a week, provided I have a new recipe for that category.
I hope you, Spud and Frog enjoy the veg. recipes

Unknown said...

Love the advice, we can all benefit from having a positive attitude and there is always someone out there worse off than you are. I read something the other day that said, "Be nice to people you meet, because everyone, everywhere is going through something in their lives"...and a smile doesn't cost a thing!

Sphinx said...

tomstew, you are so right. a smile costs nothing - and it takes fewer facial muscles to smile than it does to frown, so it doesn't even cost you physical effort!