Be Thankful

E-mail from my Father-in-Law asking if my job was 'really that bad' and reminding me to BE THANKFUL! This was true and convicting, and the answer is, 'no, it is not really that bad.'

Mancow's radio show dealt (briefly) with the same theme-choosing happiness. Mancow's sidekick, Al, acknowledged the truth of the thesis that we can choose to be happy, but promptly admitted how he does the opposite. How easy it is to sink into negativity! The problem is confounded when well-done cynicism and pretty darn funny humor help draw you in (Dilbert, South Park).

I resist the idea of walking around with a fake smile or a Pollyanna attitude. But I don't want to give in to negativity and cynicism either. Perhaps it's difficult to face reality, to live in tension. The absurd, the true, the false, the noble and beautiful, the ugly and profane co-exist in this place and time. Things aren't exactly right, but they're not all bad either. I must cultivate thankfulness as 'second nature' rather than cynicism or sarcasm and negativity.