Being Positive in a Negative World
By Bill Shepard
Remaining positive in a negative world can be a challenge! I often hear the words spoken by some politicians that “the best days of America lay ahead,” and I say to myself, “You have got to be kidding!” Whether the speaker believes it or not, he is being positive when all around is negative!
Bill Shepard
One of the old Bible prophets spoke of being positive when t he world was all negative. Said the old prophet, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17
That man was being positive in a negative situation!
I heard of the woman who after washing her family’s clothing, and in the old fashioned way, put them on the line to dry. Along came a strong wind and caused the line to break. The woman went outside, gathered up the clothes, went through the washing process again and hung them back on the line. Have you ever done that? I witnessed it happening more that once when I was a boy. The story continues. The woman went back inside and sat by the window. The clothesline broke a second time and all her clothes lay on the ground. As she watched, a big dog came along and made tracks all over her wet clothes. As she watched what was happening, she smiled to herself and said, “He didn’t miss a one.”
What an interesting little story! True or not, the point is made. If we can look at the negative things happening about us with a positive view, our lives will be more pleasant.
I have been watching too much negative news on TV lately. It has affected me in ways that I do not like! I often catch myself wondering what peoples in other parts of our world must be thinking of what they are seeing and hearing about our nation.
There are a lot of good things going on in our world but one has to look beyond the TV in order to see them. Just the other day I was returning to my car with a buggy carrying the groceries I had just purchased from inside the store. I opened the door to the trunk of my car and began the process of unloading. My buggy began to roll from me and I was having difficulty with the unloading. Across the parking lot a young man saw the difficulty I was having and came to my car. “Let me help you,” he said, and proceeded to do likewise. He offered to return the buggy to the store, and as he turned to go he said, “Have a good day!” I gave him a big hearty thank you, and he crossed the parking lot. I stood silent and thought, “There are some positive things in this world but you have to see them where they are!”
On my way home from the store, I stopped at Burger King for lunch. I gave my order and the lady that prepared my food said, “Have a seat, sir, and I will bring your food to your table.” That had never happened at that place before! The lady saw that I was having difficulty carrying my food while holding my walking cane in one hand. Since that day, I have returned to that place a number of times, and the same thing happened!
I have decided that there is still some kindness and positive things to be found in our world, but not enough of those things are seen on TV! As for me, I have decided to pay more attention to the positive happenings about me and be thankful for them.
Now would be a good time to start! So, thank you to Jana and Samantha for keeping all of us informed of the “good things,” the kind things, which are happening in our town!
Next time!
Mr. Shepard is a native of Darlington, S.C., and a current resident of Piedmont, S.C. He is the author of “Mill Town Boy” and “Bruised”. He has been sharing his tales of growing up in Darlington for decades, and we are delighted to share them each week. His mailing address for cards and letters is: Bill Shepard 324 Sunny Lane, Piedmont, S.C., 29673.
