Half-Full View

"Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power."

Shirley MacLaine

I don't know about you, but in my life I've noticed that things have to reach a fevered pitch--or perhaps a nadir--before I finally see what's going on. Perhaps it was the doubling of my meds over the weekend that brought me to that place where negativity is concerned. In the vortex of chaos and illness with which the drug hammers my brain, I'm unable to cope with negative input of any kind. I feel like a panicked cat in a rainstorm, hanging upside-down by its claws from a weak and cracking tree branch that's giving way from the tension. Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

The Recession, our own financial crisis, the presidential campaign and its imagined outcome, the kids' dad, conspiracy theories, lack of clients, the news, worrying about the ability too buy groceries, even the cat bringing dead things into the house all contribute to the negative energy that has pervaded my daily life. I have to say no to all of it. Negativity cripples the human spirit and never creates anything positive.

"(In 1978) There wasn't an internet to tell you how screwed up everything
was every ten minutes and there was no such thing as 24-hour news."
RW

I never experienced this kind of negativity in myself until I got involved with my last relationship. I met a wounded young woman who'd had a terrible upbringing and I mistakenly thought that love was enough to heal that. Look what I've come through, I told myself. Unfortunately, her negativity crept into my own heart and I've not been able to completely excise it, no matter what I do. I find myself wordlessly criticizing others, picking things and people apart in my mind. I never did that before. Every day of my life is filled with me telling myself to stop; I'm constantly checking myself, which is exhausting. But maybe that's a kind of negativity as well. Maybe what I need to do is simply love, replace each negative thought with a positive one. Maybe scolding myself is taking the wrong tack.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
Luke 6:37

Negativity sucks energy, plain and simple. I've decided that I'm going to commit myself at the beginning of each day to finding something positive in myself and in others throughout the day. I'm going to have to steer clear of the news. I'm a Libra--a September Libra at that--and watching the news has always depressed me. Even in the Sixties I was more the Flower Child than the Hippie. While everyone else was out marching with their fist in the air, I was inside wrapped in an incense cloud writing songs about love and sunny days. Nettl enjoys keeping up with current events and isn't dragged down into depression from it, so when she watches the news in the evening, I'm going to read, or write, or pop in a PC game. If I feel the need to know what's going on, I'll watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Those are more my speed because they present the news with a sense of humor that softens the blow for me.

"Sensitive souls draw in the negativity of others because they are so open."
John Gray

So beginning today I'm saying NO to negativity. I'm picking up again the "No NAR" philosophy that I had before 1996 when I allowed negativity to take root in me. This is not to say that I'll be bottling things up and stuffing them down, I'm simply not going to dwell on negativity. It's all about balance.

"The best way of removing negativity is to laugh and be joyous."
David Icke

How do you combat negativity? Do you have any tips or advice?