Today is my sister Sylvia’s birthday and I would like to dedicate this post to her.  She sometimes signs off on her email with the above words, which always are a boon to my spirit.

Perhaps it is because she is an artist that her words seem so fitting, but I think that they are perfect for positive psychology as well.  You don’t have to be an artist to put the concept into practice.

And like the other baby steps we are taking to big life change, this will do a lot to improve the quality of your life.

Have you noticed that what you focus on, or put your attention on, gets bigger?  If something happens that irritates you and you keep talking to yourself about it, and anyone else who will listen, your irritation and preoccupation begins to grow and grow.

Before long you are in a big snit and it has colored your entire day.

On the other hand if you can be aware that you have a choice in where your attention is directed, you will turn this around.  Take a few deep breaths and survey your surroundings.  What do you really see?

A beautiful sky perhaps.  The daffodils pushing through the dirt, showing bright green shoots with just a hint of yellow.  A cardinal at the feeder.  An interesting and beautiful detail of architecture.  A smiling child.  A couple of old friends sharing a meal.  A beautiful line of poetry or music. Something you wrote in your own journal.

There is a teaching tale about being in the woods where a white dog and a red dog are roaming around every day.  They are always there.  And every day you make a choice about which dog you are going to feed.

The white dog is peace, love, beauty and joy.  The red dog is anger, resentment, fear and blame.  We know enough about dogs to know that whichever one we feed is going to be glued to our side, growing bigger and stronger with every meal.  The one we do not feed will wander off, weaker and eventually disappearing.

Which dog are you going to feed today?