Blog #632: Did You See Where I Hid It?

Walk with me.

I’m dipping into my email.

A reader asks how to see the positive…
when the positive is hard to see.

I’m sharing my thoughts with you.

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The email:

Shawn –

Thank you for the consistency of your blog. I know on Thursdays I can count on you sending something that encourages me.

I admire you for the ability to see the positive even when the positive is hard to see. I would like to be like that. Any personal advice on making it happen with more regularity?

Thank you for caring about people.

B.

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My response:

Dear Friend…

I absolutely know what negative feels like.

I feel a pinch of it every day.

BUT (much of the time!)…

I’m pretty good at overpowering Negative’s sneaky ability to play King in my head for the entire day.

In the past…

I’ve written that what we put in our heads…comes out of our heads. The more we put in Positive, the less chance we have of pushing out Negative. What I read, who I hang out with…it all adds up and makes a difference.

But…

Here’s something I’ve yet to share:

I consistently see, feel and acknowledge those times in the day when I live a soft, sweet, precious or kind moment. And when one of those special moments magically nudges its way into my day, I consciously think:

“Cool moment!”

Seeing and acknowledging cool moments takes weight off my brain.

Four examples from yesterday…

#1. My little Chihuahua crawled under my arm as I napped, so she could sleep next to me. I whispered:

“Cool moment!”

#2. I heard a woodpecker and saw an amazing peacock on a trail near my home…I whispered it. And then I saw a squirrel staring at me while he was attempting to hide his precious food. Perhaps he wondered if I was going to steal his “gold nugget” now that I knew his hiding place. I whispered it again:

“Cool moment!”

#3. I closed my eyes, lifted my head to the sun, and felt the California day’s perfect warmth on my face. I thought:

“Cool moment!”

#4. I read a single sentence from a book that carried extra “Wow!” power. I read the line multiple times and thought:

“Cool moment!”

That’s it.

That’s all I do.

I see, feel and acknowledge the cool moments.

The moments might be simple.

But each is alive with rich energy and waiting to be breathed in.

The more I acknowledge the soft Positives…

the more I mute the hard Negatives.

For the skeptics…

Living positive is NOT some funky, mind-trick game.

Living positive is authentically acknowledging how lucky we are to be here.

And why would we choose to not think and acknowledge that?

I hope this helps, my Friend.

I’m rooting for you.

With humble gratitude that you read Extra Mile Thursday…

S.

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Note: The photo on top taken on my 135-mile walk across Scotland in 2023.