Horrible, Terrible, No Good Very Bad Day

(This is a rant on pessimists.  I know that not everyone would agree with me and that’s OK.  These feelings are purely my own.)

My husband is a serial pessimist.  He calls himself a realist.  When something goes wrong first thing in the morning, he is certain the rest of his day is going to be horrible.  I try to cheer him up and ask him to calm down and think positively but he says, “I’m POSITIVE it’s going to be a bad day!”  I have friends on FaceBook and in real life that act like every situation they go through in life could very well be the end of the world.

Unfortunately, I don’t have patience or apathy for serial pessimists.  Believe me, I wish I had just a little bit of apathy for them but I don’t: which makes me seem like an insensitive, heartless witch (with a capital B).  I keep my mouth shut as to not rock the boat, but inside, my thoughts run wild.  I try to ignore the negativity they spew out, but sometimes, I just want to shake them and tell them to open their eyes to all of the blessings around them!

We all have bad days and even bad situations that happen to us; however, I believe that a person chooses the way their day plays out.  If you believe your day is going to continue to be a horrible, terrible, no good very bad day (like the children’s book), then you are seeking all of the negatives that happen throughout the day instead of opening your eyes and heart to all of the greatness the day has to offer.  With every negativity my husband speaks about, I can name two (or more) positive things that have happened to him in the last 24 hours or things he can look forward to throughout the day.  In the whole scheme of things, this situation is but a blip on the radar.  It won’t be remembered a month from now let alone a year from now.  What difference does it make?

I enjoy looking for the little things to brighten my day.  They are simple things like the dogs not fighting me when it’s time to go outside while I go to work, sunshine through the clouds, fuzzy chicken butts, wind whipping through the trees, a dog enjoying the fresh air with it’s head out the window and its ears blowing in the wind, breakfast with my husband, a cat that wants to cuddle, my bi-weekly lunch out with a coworker, a phone conversation with my mom, a letter in the mail from our Compassion child, the sight of a hummingbird enjoying the nectar I put out for it, a conversation with my friend at work, pictures of everyone’s children on FaceBook and the fact that I made it one more day on this beautiful earth!

What are you thankful for today?