Out of the Darkness

Consistent readers of this BLOG may very well have a perception of me that I am one of those positive- at- all-costs people. That no matter what life throws at me; my attitude is to make lemonade. Well, truth be told, I do try to keep a positive outlook on life and the resulting challenges we all face from time-to-time, but I’m just an average person like everyone else. I have days, sometimes weeks, where I struggle to find the good in people and situations.

From time to time, we all find ourselves hitting challenge after challenge, and eventually our good nature or positive attitude takes a beating, and we find ourselves in a bit of a dark place. My last week or so has been like this. I’ve seemingly had one thing after another confront me and challenge my abilities to respond in a way that would make me proud of who I am. In the large scheme of things, none of the issues were significant life matters, but having them come at me in sequence, a seemingly relentless attack, cornered me into a place where I started to prepare my counter-attack. I allowed my frustration and anger to fuel a response to some people that was unwarranted. I pushed back at people whose intent was constructive. I treated others in a way that I would find unfair if the roles were reversed.

Which brings me to today. My day to write my “upbeat” column about the little positive lessons in life that are there for the taking if we can just see them. I’ve been thinking about this all week, stressing about my darkness, my inability to detect the positives in my life. What am I going to do?

In my desperation, I voiced my concern to my family. “What am I going to write about?” Their response was immediate. What in the world was I talking about? Just the other day, at National Night Out, didn’t a veteran approach you about a simple and sincere “thanks for your service” comment you had made. Did he not, respond with an eye-to-eye and heartfelt “You don’t know how much that means to me, sir,” followed by a firm handshake?

Yes. Yes, he did.

In that moment, my unsettled nature almost immediately dissipated. In my darkness, I was unable to see the straightforward gift of a simple human interaction. I know this simple exchange was repeated that night over and over. People were thanked by members of their community for their service to community or country; An untold number of people just saying “thank you.” An equal number of members of our local community accepting this gratitude with humility and gratefulness of their own.

The light is shining in now. Breaking through the darkness and illuminating the message to never underestimate the power of a few words, whether they are a cry for guidance, or words of thanks. Both radiate trust and respect into our sometimes gloomy days