Just think positive!

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts, you'll start having positive results"

-Willie Nelson

Ever hear something that makes you say "What?!?" Those moments when people pass a comment or say something that makes you think, "Are they actually thinking before they speak?"

Today in Wales, our Government outlined how they would be spending their budget over the next year. I was fortunate enough to be at the Government building today while this big announcement was going on. It was fascinating to see all the members debating and questioning what it was they were hearing, voicing their opinions. A great day all round for anyone. Even if you're not really 100% sure about politics it is still a fascinating place to be.

On my way home in the car it was interesting to hear how the presenters on the News program were interpreting what had been going on. I had just been watching for myself the events taking place an hour earlier and now I was listening to them taking place again on the radio. It was like some sort of deja vu taking place. As the radio panel were making their comments on the budget, one of the members made a comment that made me have a "What?!?" moment.

The panel were busy discussing the sorts of issues that are going on in the economy and society etc., one of which was health. The member said this,

"The problem is that people are living longer."

People living longer? Great! I thought that was a good thing. People are living longer, we have better lifestyles so we are living to an older age, that's surely a good thing? I wonder how many times toasts have been made in the past wishing people a full and prosperous life? They must be working.

Its funny to think that something which should be a good thing, is being viewed as a problem. It was a moment where I thought to myself, "What!?!" You could think of it as saying,

"The problem is people are actually alive and are actually surviving."

I'm pretty sure if people were dying at a young age then that would certainly be a problem. But people living longer lives? That can only be a good thing. It's funny how something positive, like people living longer, can be viewed as something negative, a problem.

I'm sure it's not the only time in life when something positive has been viewed as something negative, when something that was thought of as a good thing has been interpreted as a bad thing. Those times when we think we are doing something to help but maybe made something worse. We've all had times, I'm sure, when we tried to do the right thing, try do something that we think is a positive thing and yet the outcome hasn't been quite what we expected.

And so I end with this thought.

So often in life there are times when we try to help people, or try to do the right thing for others and maybe the outcome isn't as we expected. Those times where something that should be intended as a good thing has been taken as something negative. Maybe you have given your opinion on something or stood up for something you believed in. They can all be things that are positive, that you think to be right, and yet it can so easily be interpreted as something 'negative'.

Some people will always find the negative in whatever is done. People are living longer, which is what people have tried to achieve for years, and yet now that we are there it is beginning to be a problem. Does that mean that we try and stop it? Does it mean we start encouraging people to live unhealthy lives to stop people living longer? No. This is a good thing, even if it does bring with it some challenges.

Whatever we do in life there will always be those challenges we have to overcome. But does that mean we just stop what we're doing? Give in to others? Do the opposite to what we beleive is right? No.

In life, stay true to yourself, do that which you believe in, do what you know is right, and if people have a problem with that, ignore it. There will always be those that see things as a negative, even when really there is nothing negative at all.

Bywyd sydd yn byw! - Just living life!

RM