“Ignorance is bliss,” is something my mom said more than once. I used to laugh whenever she referred to this old saying, thinking how could anyone NOT want to know what was going on around them? My curiosity would be killing me!
Well, I’m not laughing now. Information from everywhere — all the time— is literally at my fingertip, and the constant negativity is crushing. Ignorance is sounding better and better all the time because a positive perspective is hard to find. I don’t want to keep my head in the sand, but more time there wouldn’t hurt.
Hearing how the world is in the toilet first thing in the morning points my day in the wrong direction. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be aware. I want to keep up with current events and culture, but shaking off the constant doom and gloom news is getting harder. My empathetic tendencies take everything to heart much too easily. Moods are contagious and I’m having more trouble than ever shaking off bad ones.
But I’m on it, and determined to fortify my emotional immune system. The ability to automatically see things from a positive perspective is enviable and hanging around with those who can do this seems like a good strategy. I’m pretty sure it’s a habit that can be learned. Spending less time with grumblers, where every conversation ends with the wringing of someone’s hands, is my start. Wanted: upbeat attitudes. Grumps need not apply.
There are so many things to be sad about, and I don’t mean to infer we should be happy all the time. For sure everyone’s life lands in the toilet at some point, but if we were all sad all the time who would come up with bright ideas and solutions. And how would we raise our children? When they see US poopy all the time, how can we expect anything else from them?
At one time in my life I wanted to be a therapist and went back to college after my children left home. After two years of constant delving into my own emotions and motivations — along with a room full of me’s — it was clear: this was not the profession for me. Being objective is essential and I never could quite get there. Weeping with your clients doesn’t get the job done!
The truth is, I often don’t recognize my own negativity. I’ll start my blog about a subject dear to my heart. In my mind, it’s relevant and up-lifting. Then I read it back to myself and see how easily I slipped into that rabbit hole of negativity. After the first paragraph I lapsed into talking about all that was wrong instead of all that was right. And I didn’t realize it until that first draft was finished. Slash! Slash! Slash!
With this new mindset in my brain, people who bubble with enthusiasm are really starting to stand out. And hanging more with smiles instead of frowns seems like a very good idea. Beefing up my mood immune system just might protect what’s left of my own smile.
Weeded out this week: The compulsion to satisfy my curiosity by reading every FB post and news article as if they were all true. ha.