Posted by
Shirin on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 2:46:49 AM
Ah, the wonders of positive pop psychology.
It's better to be positive than negative. This is the power of positive thinking, where people like Oprah Winfrey will tell you that you can create negative energy by thinking negatively. To listen to the whispering in the wind about "spirit" (whoosh! what was that?), one would almost be inclined to believe that all people can actually subconsciously will themselves into rape, murder, even a car accident ... or into mounds of wealth and prosperity and a wonderful world full of nothing but the best just by thinking and saying out loud all the right things. Wear the magic talisman of positive belief around your neck and you will encourage only good things to come to you.
Not.
It is a fact of life that evil things have happened to innocent people, including babies and children; and that some of the most evil people in the universe have been tremendously blessed with astronomical riches, and sometime happiness, beyond measure. That's not to say good things don't happen to positive-minded people or that bad things don't happen to evil people, that's just to say don't bet your direct deposit payroll that you can will mental, spiritual, or physical prosperity to you just by keeping good thoughts. Good thoughts are a starting point, not the means or the methods to get from Point A to Point Z.
It's good to think positive. It's even better to keep it in perspective because there is such a thing as reality, and reality more often than not dictates that whatever is supposed to be at any given point in time is going to be, regardless of how good we are, or how positive we've thought, or how many psychological talismans we've used to try to will only good and positive energy into our space.
Oprah, an unmarried, childless and scandalously rich woman with only one friend in the world that she knows doesn't smile at her just because she has tons of money, can afford to move people around in her life like so many chessmen on a black and white board and tell us how we, too, can do the same. Truth told, the rest of us have to work with people we do/don't like, go to school with people we do/don't like, go to church with people we do/don't like, live in neighborhoods with people we do/don't like, even have to be related by blood or marriage to people we do/don't like and there's not much we can do about it, except avoid as many "toxic relationships" as possible along the way.
But isn't it good to know that for a price, this "hope in a bottle" elixer can be bought and sold off a shelf just like a can of frijoles negroes and a box of Spanish rice mix. Whatever the people are buying, somebody is going to package and sell. Believe that, stay focused, keep it positive and all that is love and laughter and light will come your way. Cheers, and that'll be $28.99 plus tax, please.