It’s easy in this world to become negative, those who have read my blog will remember that I’ve written often about negativity, mostly how my own negative thoughts have led me to places that I’d prefer not to be.
I’m lucky, I can usually shrug the negative funk quickly after I first realize what’s going on and then determining if there’s anything I can do about it. If there is, I try to attack the problem instead of the symptom. If there’s nothing I can do about it, I try to let it pass as it’s wasted energy on a negative subject. I can’t claim 100% success but, I’m batting above .500 for sure.
I realize that for some, it’s not that easy. I know in some cases there are people who suffer from more than just negative feelings or a passing funk. I believe though that for most of us, it’s more like my experience than the other.
The world is full of negative people, people who for whatever reason want or need to drag everyone around them down, possibly so they have others around them who feel the same way, misery loves company. I know from experience that being in a negative place is very lonely even if there are others around.
Some may consider it flip or that I have a casual attitude about how I deal with negativity of depression therefore I must have the same feeling about others who cannot so easily shed their negative thoughts. I don’t, it’s just my way of working through the issue. It may work for some and for others it won’t, I know that.
My Camino in 2017 is not where I developed this approach or ability, it is however where I realized it, understood what was going on and how I could use it going forward to process my reality.
While I’ve meditated all my life and I continue to do so with a new understanding of both why I do it and how I can get more from it, the Camino or for that matter any opportunity to quiet my mind is, for me, meditation.
The Amazon is on fire, the great glaciers of Greenland are melting at an alarming rate, society seems to be in turmoil constantly and people seem to be in each other’s faces needlessly. In this reality, I could easily become negative and even bitter, I choose not to. I don’t mean that I ignore what’s going on, I don’t. What I can do is control how I react to it.
What can I do to lessen my impact on our environment? How do I respond to the actions of others? I choose to work from this angle instead of reacting to it or them. I am and always have been a glass half full person, I’d rather see the good that exists than be blinded by the bad which always seems to be in front, larger and insurmountable…it’s not.
As with my climb up the Pyrenees two years ago when I thought I’ll never make it, what am I doing here with aching legs, all of life presents these temporary obstacles. Cold and sleet were a bracing slap in my face and a realization, and I can tell you, I never looked back.
On my recent return to Spain and the Camino Inglés, even in the cold and driving rain I can honestly say I never felt negative. Yes, it was cold, and, on some days, there was a driving rain and yes, I would have preferred that it was pleasant and dry. But it wasn’t and I wasn’t going to quit so, I had two choices. Be miserable and negative as I walked (quitting wasn’t an option) or, realize that I chose to be here and accept the rain and cold with a smile or at least with an understanding that this too shall pass.
Instead, on the worst day, the day I walked into Santiago, I talked and laughed with my new Canadian friend Grace who was as wet and cold as I was. On another day, again cold and somewhat wet, climbing up to the Cruz de Ferro and down toward Molinaseca, I talked and laughed with my old friend Katja. Even with cold hands and screaming knees, I was happy to be where I was. Living in that moment.
Clear eyes and a full heart, the power of drive and optimism. At almost 63, I figure I have at least another 37 years in front of me. I want to see more sunrises from a hilltop with people that I know and love. I want to be able to offer a hand to a friend in need, even if I’ve only just met them. And, on the contrary, I want to be able to accept an extended hand when I need it and understand the kindness behind it.
These simple gestures are acts of kindness but also of positivity and it takes very little to accept them for what they are. Whereas, looking the other way or rejecting a genuine offer of help takes some effort, it does for me anyway.
While I’ve always had the positive tendencies within me, a mountain range, a quiet plain, someone to talk to or listen and people from around the world who genuinely offered or accepted a kind word, a drink of water, some bread and cheese or a helping hand made it possible to realize my own potential.
Clear eyes and a full hearts, can’t lose!