It is the first week in July – I like to call this ‘the fold of the year’ because there are six months behind us, and six months ahead. Given the current global climate (literally and figuratively) it is a relief to know half the year is behind us.
Social media is full of complaints and descriptions of increases in anxiety, stress, and depression. The people for whom I provide peer support have been miserable. For people with PTSD, it’s a ‘three-fer’: we have them all, and the levels creep upward.
That isn’t as negative as it sounds. Some years ago I was in a hotel down South, completing two of the most traumatic months I’d ever spent. The hotel double-charged me for my room, and it was almost too much to take, since it nearly depleted my available funds. When I expressed my despair, the manager promised that he would have the extra charge removed (and he did), and told me: To-day is an opportunity for things to go right.
Given where I was, the remainder of my stay was comparatively stellar. I realized ‘the opportunity for things to go right’ was as much a matter of attitude as it was a matter of blessing, grace, good luck, or whatever you may wish to call it.
So, in the second half of the year, we can choose to anticipate positive change – to focus on the opportunity for things to go right. One of my more popular posts on Facebook and Instagram is a quote from the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer: The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, and new possibilities. It really makes a difference. Suddenly, instead of seeing the cloud, we look for what’s behind it. Instead of the half-empty glass, we have the half-full glass (and some have pointed out, the glass is never half-empty – that extra space is filled with air [potential]).
The positive attitude lets a little light into the darkness, and that light is what we hold onto. Light is insidious – once it starts shining, even a tiny speck, the darkness must give way.
Paul TN Chapman
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