Family Bytes

Good morning! It’s a beautiful day today! Is that your mantra when you wake up in the morning? Do you smile and thank the Lord for giving you another wonderful day? Or do feel so sluggish and almost drag yourself to do your task? Do you almost curse this day for you picture a terrible day ahead—unmet deadlines, failing grades, lay-offs, zero sales?

What you have in mind right now is what is going to happen. Maybe not today or the next day, but surely it would happen when you conceive that thought and believe with all your heart that it will happen sooner or later. The universe will conspire to make it happen and your strong conviction will push you to act towards the realization of your thoughts whether it is negative or positive.

Your negative thoughts, your worries, your fears, your apprehensions would not be that bad if you just let it pass and combat them with positive thoughts and actions. However, if you invite them over dinner and feed all these to your being day in and day out, it would work like a magnet and would wreak havoc to you life. And in no time you would find yourself paralyzed—your growth is stunted and you will never rise above any challenges that you would encounter.

On the other hand, meeting a brand new day with a grateful heart, looking forward to a wonderful day ahead, and being open to God’s graces and blessings are surely the best ways to make your day. No amount of financial crisis, recessions, lay-offs, would dampen your spirit when you have decided to always look at the silver lining in the face of any adversities.

I’ve been on both sides of the coin at one point or another. I’ve experienced living in pessimism and I tell you, it seems like I had a taste of hell. Happiness then was ever elusive. My cynicism prevented me from enjoying life to the fullest and from seeing the beauty and the gift of life until that one providential day that I found balance. The beacon of light shone upon me and introduced me into the world of optimism. My life has never been better since then. I still have bouts of skepticism from time to time, though, for I am still a “work in progress”. But now that I have a taste of heaven, I’m pretty sure that I would never want to go back to the other side.

Based on my experience, I could say that the quality of our life depends on the quality of our thoughts and the product of our actions. Our life is what we make it—it is what our thoughts and actions make it. Our circumstances do not define happiness, rather, it is our attitude towards life and what it brings that draws the line between happiness and despair.

Life is what you make it. The choice is yours.