This weekend, while sitting on my back porch drinking a cup of hot tea, I was instantly reminded of the many things I don’t love about fall. To begin with, it’s so cold. I start feeling chilled around October and don’t thaw out until April or so. It’s just something I’ve come to accept about this time of year. Also, with the sun setting so much earlier in the day, it doesn’t leave much time to enjoy outside activities. Flowers and trees die, dropping an unbelievable amount of leaves that will at some point need to be removed. Even the name “fall” has gloomy connotations. Seriously, when is falling ever a good thing? Fall also reminds me the holidays are fast approaching and with them come unnecessary amounts of stress.
Yes, those were the first things I thought about when I sat on my back porch this weekend. Looking back, my first thoughts should have been about how the different seasons are vital to bring about necessary changes in nature or about how the trees that are dropping those leaves are majestic and I’m so blessed to have them in my back yard. Or even about how the earlier sunsets may well help me to appreciate beautiful sunrises or how I can spend the dwindling daylight hours in more meaningful ways.
Intentional positivity
Instead, my mind went instantly to the negative instead of the positive. I didn’t stop to think about how blessed I am to even have a backyard, much less a porch that overlooks it.
Being positive is easy if it’s something you love. It’s a bit more challenging if it’s something you don’t. I realize since my thoughts have a negative bend in the winter months, I need to be more intentional to find something positive about it. It just comes down to a choice of perspective. Focusing on the negative makes you feel physically drained, while intentionally being positive will create a feeling of happiness within you. King Solomon says it well in Ecclesiastes 3:12, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.” Make a choice of how you want to live this day. You never know who may benefit from your positive perspective.
