Finding the Good Stuff

In this section, we discuss how to make the best of most situations, how to cope in the short-term, and how to make lemonade out of lemons, if that is what life gives us! This includes: looking for the joy, living in abundance, seeking a spiritual outlook, appreciating our oneness, finding your creativity, claiming your goodness, and balancing connection and detachment.

Look for the Joy
We can see the world as a very dark place, full of hatred and threats, or we can see it as a positive place, full of energy, love and opportunity. I find that the way I view the world seems to come back to me in the way I am viewed by others. And, having a positive outlook, despite our hardships or successes, makes every day better and brighter for our Self and for others.

There are times, however, when this is so difficult that it becomes impossible. I have had those times. I am not a psychiatric professional, and you should not view me as one. If you are in great anguish, it can be lifesaving to seek the help of a spiritual counselor or of a professional psychiatrist or therapist.

Look for the Joy

With rose-colored glasses, Coyote saw that the world was really made of love afterall. -S. Gullikson

Find Your Creativity
Being creative helps soothe my soul, while at the same time offering me the feeling of being productive, which is a lesson I learned while growing up in a northern European culture. I write and I paint in response to many years of change in my life. My grandfather began painting when he was about seventy years old, in response to retirement.

Earlier in life, I baked cookies or baked bread to relieve stress, or just to gain a sense of calm. Sometimes being creative is a reflection of the
peace we feel internally.

Being creative does not require you to write a book or paint a picture. It may mean changing something in your home, arranging flowers, creating a card, or sawing a board. It means creating - making something different or new:

Create (kre-at’) 1. To cause to exist; bring into being. 2. To give rise to; produce. 3. To produce through artistic or imaginative effect.

Begin now to tap into your creativity. It will help you later, in developing options.

Claim Your Goodness: Seek Validation
It is easy, if we have faced loss or feel we have failed, to think less of ourselves. It is important to claim your goodness among humankind, to look for your strengths, to focus on them, and to validate your own existence through your mental processing. Without that, survival and living can be extremely difficult. Your sense of self-worth and self-esteem, is imperative to addressing your future.

Live in Abundance
We can live as if there were never enough, or we can live as if there is always enough - enough food, enough money, enough possessions, enough love. Living in abundance is changing your perspective from one of fear to one of love and faith.

Seek a Spiritual Outlook
Nothing is as uplifting as connecting with God, and connecting with our personal spirituality. During the good times, it is tempting to fell invincible. During dark times, it is easy to forget that there is a larger force at work, and we are part of it.

Appreciate our Oneness
It is easy to forget that we are all part of the same godliness in this Universe. We are here to love and serve one another - not torment or criticize or make life difficult for one another.

Find the Balance of Connection and Detachment
Stay excited about what you do, experience it, but develop a sense of detachment from the vagaries or down-side of the experiences.