So today was a happy day. See I am a single mom of three kids, one of whom just started college. I had a ton of expenses this past month. We had a kick-ass vacation, all four of us needed glasses/contacts, and school started back. We all needed supplies, especially my daughter who moved to college. So, I have been a little cash strapped as of late. But today I realized I had more money than I thought the whole time. (Okay not a ton - still pretty broke. I am just not as broke as I originally believed.) Driving to work I had this epiphany that maybe this actually has a spiritual meaning: maybe people think they are broke or broken when they really aren't as bad off as they thought.
Life sure is hard at times and can get very messy and complicated. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, especially in times like these. But maybe we all need to focus more on the positives in our lives. Martin Seligman, the once president of the American Psychological Association, researches happiness. He founded the Positive Psychology Movement. (A sidenote - he founded it at the Grateful Dead House in San Francisco - I love this little fact). He conducted experimental studies that show that we can actually increase our happiness quotient by practicing gratitude.
He also coined the term "learned helplessness" I think. See our mindset is a malleable. We can increase our happiness or we can believe or be conditioned rather to believe that we are helpless. But really, we are not.
So today, I am going to be grateful that I am not as broke as I thought. I am going to also take this as a symbolic event because I am not as broken as I thought either. We will survive this era. You aren't probably as broken as you thought either. Peace
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