It may be a mistake to try and be in a good mood all the time. When sadness or loneliness or grumpiness or some other negative mood arises, trying to allow it its place can improve the deftness of dealing with it. However, I find that there are so many ironies, surprising inconsistencies, exaggerations and funny ideas that come to mind during a day that there isn't much opportunity for a negative mood to really take hold.
The other day, I was in a rather negative mood. But then Lynn pointed me toward two poems that had been used in her workshop for inspiration. The first is "Mindful" by Mary Oliver. If you have read much of the current buzz on mindfulness, you might expect the poem to explain the benefits of sitting quietly for 10 minutes of concentrating on your breath. But you would be underestimating the imagination of this well-known and much-loved poet. Her opening line says that every day, something she sees or hears, "more or less kills me with delight". Knocks her a hard one upside the head with delight, pleasure, awe, wonder, that the world can be as it is. What she goes on to say is so tender, so accurate, so personal, that it is difficult to read the poem and not be uplifted.
I won't copy the poem here because it is unfair to poets to steal their work. But you can read the poem through the link above. It is short, and clear and powerful.
The Oliver poem and the song/poem by Carrie Newcomer "Holy as A Day Is Spent" worked powerfully on my negative mood, which was gone in a flash. Both poems show that miracles and wonders surround us continuously and are always there. True, we have to allow our inner selves the chance to see and experience the suffering and disappointments that are also everywhere all the time. Often, the first step is to pay attention. Newcomer and Thich Nhat Hahn speak of the beauty and holiness of washing the dishes and you can see the beauty if you look carefully at the water, your hands, the soap suds, the faucet - all of which took a long time to make and collect together in that exact spot. My best model for seeing wonder is a baby. Babies are amazed by everything, what with their world being so new. Although I am somewhat old and wrinkly, I am not so much more sophisticated than I was as a baby. In truth, just about everything is kind of a surprise.
--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
