Caryn is BACK!

How fun to have my dear friend Caryn the snowbird back for the winter. We spend the day shopping, talking, sharing and going to lunch at Kneaders. Much to catch up on after 7 months separation, more tomorrow on her artwork. Click to enlarge for details...

Her front foyer area

Caryn makes some of these Santas-a very talented artist!

Wildlife in Iceland

Not referring to partying adults that live in Iceland but

the sheep that are everywhere in pastures, on hillsides,

rocky island outcropping and grazing on lava rock moss.

Fluffy and tough, they had thick coats of wool that can be

spun into yarn-made into those famous Icelandic sweaters.

We'll just have to guess why he or she is the black sheep...lol!

I took the top photo of sheep along the roadside but

the black sheep was a photo on the wall of our guest house.

Article #175 Optimism or Pessimism

Are some people just born pessimists while others are optimists? I don’t know, but I think we can all find ourselves on either side of the coin depending on our outlook and attitude toward our self and the world. Listen closely and to hear what your inner voices are saying to you. “Well, you’re certainly a big failure. You could have done better than that. No one else cares about you. You’ll never amounted to much,” etc. Negative voices can play quite a trip on our psyche and personality. Learning to filter out and not believe everything you hear inside is a talent that an optimist has. I believe we can all train ourselves to be more positive in our lives. (Photo of new mother, with my first son Frank, full of optimism about our future.)

To me journaling or writing is the key to understanding me better. Try writing some free association pages each day for a few minutes to get in touch with what is on your mind when you aren’t controlling it. Is what you hear negative? If so, own that, then put a stop to it by pushing the pause button. You can control your thoughts just as you can manage your behavior. Substituting two positive thoughts for every negative thought can help you make a switch from pessimism to optimism. It’s worth a try.

With pen or pencil in hand or typing on your computer capture your random thoughts as they rush through your mind. Here’s how. Right now, I hear: “Be careful what you are writing in this column because some people might take it the wrong way and then you’ll be in big trouble.” Okay, so I stop and examine that thought and substitute two positive thoughts. (1) Well I’m not a trained therapist but I can share educational insights I’ve gained from 50 years of teaching and writing, and (2) If I want to better understand myself it starts by first examining my thoughts.

Ready to try? The goal is better self understanding and gaining control of your negative thoughts by substituting two positive thoughts for them. This can be very helpful at holiday seasons when many of us seem to go into a slump or depression because of our holiday expectations. Try writing about that word. What are your EXPECTATIONS of the holidays and family? Are you perhaps demanding too much PERFECTION from yourself and others? That could easily make any optimist into a permanent pessimist.