“He had an uncanny courage to deal with the negativity that surrounded him. Even though he lived in a world that he didn’t like, he still chose to see the bigger picture.” ~ Dwayne Johnson

“Other people ‘invite’ us to behave like victims, when they complain about the unfairness of life, for example, and ask us to agree, or ask us to offer them advice, or even ask us to participate … Be careful. When you join that game, you always end up losing.” ~ inspired by Paulo Coelho

Now that we have identified some of the areas in our lives where negativity has taken hold (see the previous post), it is time to discuss some of the methods we can use to remove that darkness and allow the Light of Joy to return.

Contrary to popular belief, hoarding pleasurable experiences and accumulating material wealth are NOT effective means of combating negativity. Indeed, the more we focus on maintaining an experience of superficial “happiness”, the less Joy-full our lives become. The more we try to give ourselves the “love” and attention we missed in our childhood, the lonelier (and more negative) we become. And the more we try to sugarcoat the painful, the difficult & the unsatisfying parts of our lives with hollow “positivity”, the stronger our underlying sense of negativity becomes.

So what can be done instead?

Along with the unique altruistic opportunities in each of your unique lives, consider the following general tips that could very well help you to walk a more positive path through life:

*TIP #01: REMEMBER your POWER

While the ego-mind would have you believe that your Happiness is beyond your control; that your Joy is dependent upon your life’s external circumstances, you are free in every moment to remember that this is simply not the Truth. Regardless of what is happening to you, you can always choose to approach life’s challenges positively. You and you alone decide whether a crisis becomes a tragedy that causes you to be miserable, or becomes an opportunity that allows you to transcend previous personal limitations. Your “awful job” is also providing you with a warm bed (and the opportunity to be Kind to possibly equally miserable co-workers) … The “terrible weather” is allowing you the chance to thoroughly enjoy that next cup of steaming tea (and maybe share a cup of the same with a homeless Friend who is stuck out in the damp) … And those “corrupt politicians” are also giving you the chance to go forth and be the change you wish to See (while having Compassion for their less than Noble neglect of the same).

*TIP #02: REMAIN in the MOMENT

For misery to be potent, it must be founded in some sort of fear. And for fear to be potent, your mind must reside at least partially somewhere else and at least partially sometime in the future.

To help you return to the HERE & NOW, avoid watching or reading “the news” about things happening elsewhere, and avoid worrying about what “could happen” sometime in the future. Focus instead on looking around you in that moment for something Kind you can do in your immediate environment. Appreciate the Beauty of Nature … Smile at a stranger … Lend a helping hand to another in need. There is always someone or something nearby that could use your assistance. Having the wherewithal to look for it and the courage to engage it will chase all gloom & doom away. In-deed, negativity has no place to reside in your mind while you are “in the moment” in this manner.

TIP #03: AVOID ALCOHOL

This one is a true no-brainer … Alcohol is a depressant. It also weakens the consciousness-level required to make sound choices related to how you express your fears and how you fulfill (or choose not to fulfill) your desires. In essence, the more alcohol you imbibe, the weaker your resolve to live a life of appreciation and gratitude, and the greater the chance for you to slip deep into a pit of depressing negativity.

TIP #04: TAKE a WALK in the WILD-SIDE

Opus (in the comic strip “Bloom County”) didn’t take “dandelion breaks” for nothing. Immersing yourself in Nature is a fantastic way to release & replace a gloomy perspective; to see life as Beauty-full & Purpose-full once again. Of course, unless you allow its re-awakening to inspire you to go forth and care for your Community, “walking in the woods” will only be a short-term fix … but still.

TIP #05: BE THANK-FULL

Make gratitude your new habit. Even though you might still find yourself slipping into your negativity addiction during the day, choose to express a general, deep-seated sense of gratitude for your life right before you go to bed, and then again immediately upon waking. Your brain is a computer … It is reprogrammable – and you are allowed to do the reprogramming.

TIP #06: SHARE the GOODNESS

Instead of complaining to your friends, coworkers and fellow elevator-riders about all that is wrong with the world, go forth each day and share at least one “Nonacalypse” (one story or one scene that is uplifting in any way) with at least three people. Even if you only encourage folks to look at the amazingness of the sky above, you will at least have awoken those people to the oft-forgotten fact that their lives too are Beauty-full.

TIP #07: DEFEND an ENEMY

One of the most common symptoms of a negativity addiction (and evidence that negativity addiction is incredibly common) is the tendency many people have to gossip about others. And because it is so commonplace and thereby so taken for granted, it becomes that much more powerful when we choose to consciously do the opposite. “Posigossip” is what I call it — when a person gently but firmly chooses to defend the person or persons being gossiped about. Mention something wonderful they did in the past … Find a reasonable explanation for their “poor behavior” … Simply note in passing that you happen to think they are basically a good person no matter what they might have done to “deserve” the gossip-session.

As “herd animals”, it is extremely difficult for us humans to have the courage to stand out in a crowd, no matter how small the crowd might be. And this is especially true when that crowd happens to be banding together to verbally attack a “common enemy” (which is what gossip essentially is). Well, it is precisely because it is so difficult that this Noble Deed becomes so potent – not only briefly awakening the gossipers to the injustice of their “trash talk”, but also completely shattering every bit of negativity and gloom that had resided within ourselves beforehand.

In conclusion, even though there is more than enough evidence to support the ego’s claims that the world is “falling apart” and that life is painful & “unfair”, there is also more than enough evidence to adopt another point of view – the equally valid Truth that our world is still stunningly Beauty-full, and that our lives, regardless of any & all external circumstances, are always laden with opportunities filled with both Meaning & Wonder.

While it is true that we cannot control what happens to us in our lifetime — and while it is equally true that some of those situations are extremely painful ones, we can always choose how we respond to them.

We CAN – no matter what happens to us — always choose to see life as an honor and a privilege …

We CAN choose to deeply revere the fact that we are alive at all …

… and we CAN always choose to act accordingly.

“Negativity is an addiction to the bleak haze that always lingers nearby … And yet we can in any moment transform this shadow by turning it towards the Light in your Spirit.” ~ inspired by John O’Donohue

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It makes whatever we already have into more than enough … It transforms all suffering into peacefulness, mere meals into feasts, and feared strangers into friends.” ~ inspired by Melody Beattie