Insufferable positivity

My best friend Ian called yesterday evening and was relating a small epiphany and mini psuedo rant to me.

In the course of the conversation, he told me that some of my "insufferable positivity" was rubbing off on him, and went on to provide a few examples of how this change is manifesting in his day to day life. He allowed as how this was not an altogether bad thing.

My reaction to these revelations was, as one might expect, gleeful. I was enamoured by the truly rich phrase "insufferable positivity". Those were yummy words like unto ambrosia to me, as I do fancy myself as something of an insufferable instigator o' positivity. That he characterized it as insufferable is something I take as a high compliment. I take great joy and a certain perverse satisfaction in being insufferably positive.

It really pays to be insufferably positive. It's good for the spirit, great for the body, enlivening for the outlook. it's also highly profitable.

In its most advanced stages insufferable positivity becomes chronic, and leads to a life of delight and wonder.

Insufferable positivity can be both cultivated and contagious. It can chafe on the cynical, and it is true that some folks can be pretty resistant and resentful of this level of positivity. They can get downright nasty. Those are not the folks I hang with.

In order to further the daily practice of insufferable positivity, it is sometimes necessary to distance oneself from the most negative and toxic souls in one's immediate sphere for a while. Friends, family members and co-workers who always complain or talk badly about others are not the most healthy energies to cultivate around oneself. Walk away.

The road to fulfillment and success is NOT filled with bitterness, malice, ill will, self pity, arrogance, contempt, meanness and nastiness. Stay away from those emotions and the folks who practice them. They and their kind are poison, and sadly their poison can be all too seductive. First thing you know, you're dissing this person and that person or joining in on the complaint bandwagon. Stay away. Wish them well, and stay away.

To further minimize negative energy and input, limit your TV news watching, newspaper reading, and other passive-angst building activities. This may sound a bit like I am advocating ignorance and apathy, but I am not. I AM asserting right here and now that we are bombarded with negative images and messages all the damned time. One of the reasons we as a culture are so stressed out is that we are constantly being told how dire things are by the nedia in all its forms. It's unhealthy.

It is entirely appropriate to politely ask to change the subject if the conversation you're involved in spins negative. It's also okay to politely and quietly excuse yourself from negative people and situations. Really, it is. And the relief you'll feel will far outweigh any social unease you might feel by redirecting the conversation or leaving. Many's the time I've asked to change the subject and been thanked, as we often don't realize we've been sucked into doom-n-gloom until someone comes along and snaps our ass out of it.

It it rarely useful or productive to challenge, call out, get in the face of or otherwise argue with negative folks. Resisting them in those ways feeds their own negativity, and materially contributes to the aggregate level of negativity around you. It can also suck you in and spark your own negative feelings including righteousness and superiority. Baaaaaaaaaad idea.

Rather than resist the negativity of those around you, practice insufferable positivity. Look for the silver linings, knowing that you will always find them. See the shadows that fall so darkly behind the light of positivity as intrinsic to the whole glorious experience of light, and let that render the darkness warm and rich.

There is always, always something good to be gotten out of every situation. A gift, a lesson, a friend, greater clarity, wisdom, all are the treasures of insufferable positivity.

I love treasure hunts.