Good day today! I slept well, woke up inspired, wrote a scene for my Camp NaNo novel (check it out) went for a walk, got some reading in, had a long phone call with my dad, and then got some more writing in. Then I let myself relax and play some games, did all the stuff that was technically optional but looks good for my classes, and moved on with my life.
I’ve been slowly acquiring Twitter followers, and one of the things that I want to do with my new-found power is be relentlessly positive.
Positivity is a great virtue. I’m prone to neuroticism and minor depressive bouts as well, and one thing that I need to guard myself against is cynicism and negativity. It’s okay to confess how you feel (I was pretty open about how yesterday sucked), but you also need to remember two things:
You can choose how you feel by determining what you orient yourself toward. If I want to be positive, I should focus on the positive. That doesn’t mean I never address problems–in fact I find myself to be much more capable of addressing them when I take a positive approach and presume they can be solved and the reward will be worth it–but it does mean that I don’t dwell on them.
People are desperate, hurting, and afraid. You can be a beacon that shows them joy when you share your joy in a way that edifies and encourages them. Doing so seems to me a fundamental part of a right course of moral action.
One of the other advantages of positivity is that it puts fear into perspective. I’m not optimistic about a lot of stuff in the near-to-mid future. But I am optimistic that I can do things that will improve my life even if my fears come to pass.
So, in-short, it’s good to be positive.
I’m reading a book on the trivium right now, because I think it’ll make me a better educator. I’m loosely familiar with it, but it’s not something that I’m terribly well-versed in. It’s also just plain interesting as a subject for study because of how it plays into information gathering and communication.
I think it’ll be interesting and something to write about once I’m through with my current writing projects for my blog.
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