Finding Your Good Fortune: The Absence of Negative Stuff
After surviving a near brush with death or very serious injury, haven’t you subsequently felt elated? Perhaps a loved one has been in grave danger or hospitalized in critical condition, and then you learned this person would be just fine. Didn’t that put you on cloud nine? Consider even less significant events, such as the flashing lights of a police car in your rear-view mirror being intended for someone else when you thought they were meant for you. Isn’t that a relief?
Because for a certain length of time you experience the high probability that something bad is going to happen, and then it doesn’t, you feel good. Maybe a situation occurs that brings you down, but soon you discover it’s no big deal, so a weight lifts from your shoulders.
Well, that’s the sort of experience you need to re-create as often as possible. This is not about rejoicing in the misfortune of others. Also it’s not quite the same as being grateful for all that you have, which is a wonderful attitude to employ. Rather, finding your good fortune comes about by constantly recognizing the absence of negative events in your life at the present moment. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. Once we move beyond our most recent close call or calamity the positive feelings disappear almost right away. If we can focus our mind upon the relative peace of the present moment we can feel better longer. This is a discussion of that endeavor.
Health Can Be Fragile
We all know, especially as we age, that “if you have your health, you have a lot.” There is an almost effortless feeling of being blessed for the first day or two after recovering from a sickness. Not as easy when the healing from an injury or disease is more gradual, we need to hone in on what it felt like at its worst. For those who suffer from a painful, chronic ailment, rather than concentrating upon how life was prior to the affliction, it is essential to see the good fortune within this very moment of life, when the degree of physical discomfort is not debilitating. An uplifting book from someone rising above such a serious illness is Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox, a genuine hero for our times.
Work While You Whistle
If you can do so at the job, exhibit a cheerful demeanor, even if you must fake it on occasion. When you hear that some big corporation is eliminating thousands of jobs, consider how fortunate you are that you’re not working for them. When you feel stressed out from the work, or certain co-workers, think about how you would feel without a job. Learn to isolate such stress to within the work environment. If it’s really bad on a daily basis then look for new employment, or start on a new career path. It’s easier to appreciate your job when you are one of the millions who have gone through the downsizing. Pay attention to what that felt like, when you thought the worst or felt less worthy after such an upheaval. Compare it to right now.
There Are Accidents
Despite the new age platitudes about nothing happening by chance, bad stuff happens, to our bodies, our vehicles, and our dwellings. You may be the best driver in town, the most cautious being in three counties, always looking out for the possibility of a problem developing and then taking action to avoid it. Nevertheless, you cannot control how you will be affected by the precise conditions in the universe at your exact location at every moment. So when everything is hunky dory, find your good fortune in that!
Law & Disorder
Another simple way to look at it is if you are not in prison you have a lot going for you. There are so many laws to follow or break, it’s impossible to keep track of them all. Our lawmakers keep passing them as fast as they can. Not that you should be afraid to live, and most laws are easy to obey. Carefully and thoughtfully see just how difficult life can be, and how awful it can feel when charged with a crime, facing conviction or paying your debt to society after guilt has been sentenced. Even a speeding ticket or other moving violation can cost a great deal. Every time you drive from point A to point B successfully, consider the negative things that did not happen.
No One Is An Island
Certainly out relationships tend to be a challenge for innumerable reasons, especially as the months and years go by. Often the source of discomfort and difficulty, it is not always easy to find our good fortune in them, particularly the stormier ones. Yet they are the very fabric of a well-rounded life, and almost always can be improved and healed through compromise and communication.
On the other hand it doesn’t require a great deal of imagination to view our lives without these significant associations. Where would we be without our closest friends and in most cases our family members? If we are taking these special people for granted then we are more likely to be unhappy in other areas of life. Appreciating our loved ones does bring together the importance of gratitude with the realization that as long as these people are healthy and with us, then there is an absence of misery in our experience.
If we can trace personal misfortune to a lack of fulfillment or an excess amount of pain in our relationships then it may be time to take significant action. This is where true fortune can be found. For people of faith, seriously consider becoming involved in an organization of worship. Otherwise find an opportunity to volunteer or simply enjoy recreation with like-minded folks in an area of interest within your community. Put in the time and energy to explore these chances for discovery and growth.
Not Without Effort
This is not an effort that requires years of study or tremendous work. More so it means developing new habits of feeling and thought. Why do we allow ourselves to worry so much about the future when we may have everything we need today? Find out how to renew a zest for living by seeing so many of the terrible and tragic things in life that are not happening to you. While it may not happen overnight, this perspective can grow, enabling more light to enter, along with appreciation for those relationships and activities in our lives upon which to build a genuine fortune.
