Tiny Piece of the Puzzle, maybe

Art Card - cut paper

I've been working on learning how to be more happy. ( That sounds odd, perhaps it should be 'happier' rather than 'more happy', but I trying to learn how to be more-so, so maybe that's OK.)

Anyway, I've tried to put away some of my negative thinking and I am making a conscious effort to try to learn from joy and positive experiences rather than through pain.  Because pain is no fun.

What the hey?  Right?

The hard part sometimes comes when Reality IS negative.  I don't want to live in denial all the time, I just want to be able to see things in a better light.  I believe in Facing Reality.  Isn't there some sort of balance that would work?  Facing Reality but not living in the Dark Hole of Despair?

I woke up today again, thinking "It's gonna be a good one."  Then I logged on to the net and read a post by a dear friend who is going through a rough time.  I answered her post by commiserating and adding my two cents.

But Before I hit the  send button, I re-read what I had just said.  It didn't feel good. And I was starting to not feel good.   So I erased it and thought about it and re-wrote my reply.

I care, I do care and I really understand her feelings and I do NOT want to dis-honor her in any way. So I let her know that I do care, and that her feelings are valid and her situation is real (I am Not about to deny her reality!  It is Very Real and she has every right to understand her reality in negative terms!).  But instead of crawling into the Black Hole with her by sharing a negative experience of my own, I told her something positive and true about herself.

I feel much better.

Can it sometimes be just that simple?  I mean, not all the time, but sometimes?