tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8838653827714968531.post8565548734043551385..comments2024-03-11T00:19:18.389-07:00Comments on New Moon Blog: Life Implosions and CelebrationsMichelle Simonsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05986446341634955362noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8838653827714968531.post-43585627333450529272015-09-13T01:34:03.430-07:002015-09-13T01:34:03.430-07:00Barbara Ehrenreich wrote a book I think you would ...<br />Barbara Ehrenreich wrote a book I think you would enjoy called "Bright-sided - How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America". I may not agree with all of it but she makes many valid points. <br /><br />Although much of what I write is about finding the gifts even when things look their darkest, that does not mean I think that we should have sunshine and light all the time. Darkness, destruction and death are vital parts of our experience. <br /><br />Certainly much of what is happening in the world is heartbreaking. Anguish, anger and all other emotions are all valid responses. We absolutely need to fully feel all of the pain that accompanies difficult life events. It is in resisting or wallowing where we get stuck. <br /><br />I would never advocate banishing what we feel and hiding behind a positive smiley face. But one thing that does help when adversity strikes, is to be willing to trust that ultimately there will be something good that will come of it. And when we shift our thoughts to looking for the positive, we are a whole lot more likely to discover or create it then if we don't believe it's possible. <br /><br />I just learned a place I love dearly burned to the ground tonight, so the implosion theme is very alive for me right now. It is hard to imagine what good can come of that, or to all the people who have lost their homes in the fire that is still raging - only a couple of hours away from me. As you said there are "unknowns and complexities". I do not pretend to have all of the answers. But I am willing to ponder the questions and wait for the truth to be revealed over time. <br /><br />Thank you for your comment, I am glad that your reflections on the past have taken an upturn! That's gooood! *<br /><br />*Although placing a value judgment of "good" or "bad" about thoughts, people or events is also unproductive, but we can leave that for another day...Michelle Simonsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986446341634955362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8838653827714968531.post-64407722220358355052015-09-12T21:54:16.296-07:002015-09-12T21:54:16.296-07:00Loved the "that's good" story --a go...Loved the "that's good" story --a good example of the Pollyanna Principle. The problem, as always, is how to get to this place of positivity? Even the story suggests that the positive aspect was only revealed over time. So perhaps the lesson is not simply to be positive but to wait for, and be open to, change? <br /><br />Then there's the question "Positive for whom?" Perhaps the king's son and heir viewed the lost finger and subsequent events more negatively. What if the king were a tyrant but the prince believed in making his subjects prosperous and happy? For the subjects, then, the king's survival was not good news. It's precisely such unknowns and complexities that demand more than simple and simplistic positivism. But I still loved the story because for me at this time in my life reflecting positively on the past is a lot less boring, unproductive, and redundant than wallowing. However, there's still a place for righteous indignation--just read the news.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com