Pollyanna Thrives - 4/19/07

I sometimes think I am the only person who had a happy childhood. I hear of so many who were robbed of their innocence, or physically and mentally abused. Has the world changed so much from when I was a child, or am I some sort of "bubble girl" who just got lucky where I landed? I grew up knowing that I was loved; my parents were both in the home; my Mother didn't go back to work until I was in high school. I was never beaten, sexually abused, or emotionally battered. There was no addiction to alcohol or drugs in my immediate family. Maybe, just maybe, that has made me the optimistic person that I am today. It certainly didn't detract from that tendency. Did I still have issues? Sure I did. Everyone has. I always felt that I was not good enough. I'm not sure where that came from other than my own innate desire to be "perfect" (whatever that is). We couldn't afford a lot of luxury growing up and I felt the lack of things wanted. I guess where this is going today is that we take the experiences we have in life and we use them either to change and grow and achieve the life that best fits us; or we use them as a crutch which in the final analysis only slows us down (trust me I know crutches...been on them enough).

My experiences led me to be an achiever. I always worked to be the best at what I was doing whether it was when I was a secretary or when I was a workforce budget analyst. I spent a lot of years building security for myself and my family; my cushion against disaster. Interesting thing is now that I look back on that part of my life those are not the important things that stand out. They were just the infrastructure I was building for my real life. My real life is and has been about service, nurturing, providing encouragement to others, and traveling on a healing journey.

Every decision I made, every experience I had has led me to this exact place and time. I would ask that you take one perceived negative in your life today and ask it two questions.

1. How can I use this experience to grow something positive in my life right now?

2. What is the gift in this experience?

I think you'll find that just answering the first question will give you the answer to the second.

Namaste