Pollyanna is Not a Bad Word

Disclaimer: This is a post that I did on my previous blog Joyful Service a couple of years back.


I have always been called an optimist and Pollyana. I have always tried to find the good in life and in people. Some people get frustrated with me because when my car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, I think "Good, my AAA membership just paid for itself."

While many people may believe that I am this way naturally and effortlessly, it is sometimes work. For example...

This winter, the first in my new house, the ceiling in my living room started to leak. The snow on the roof froze and then there was more snow and more freezing. My dear husband explained to me that the snow was pushing under the eaves, and when the ice started to melt, it soaked into the roof and then the ceiling. My beautiful house was getting water stains and the ceiling began to flake off. I started to get depressed.

However, I decided a couple of years ago not to allow my circumstances determine my happiness. In all things I try to find the silver lining. Or as Polly would say, "something to be glad for." So, I racked my brain. My husband and his 70+ year old father went on the roof and shovelled and broke the ice into chunks that they threw down to the ground. So where was the lining?

Well, it isn't a really bright lining but I found it. The part of the ceiling that was damaged is not visible unless you are almost directly under it. My beautiful house is still beautiful and can be repaired in the Spring. My wonderfully talented and handy husband and his father who taught him to be handy, were not only able to fix the problem but willing to do it.

There is always something to be glad about. If you lose your job, it might be that it is the trigger that takes you out of a rut you have been in. In this economy, losing a job is cause for fear and anxiety but it can teach you how to be more thrifty and make you appreciate the problems of people who are homeless or people in third world countries who have almost nothing.

Just living in the United States is something to be thankful for every day. There are places to go if by some chance you do need assistance getting food, or shelter. Our children get a free education no matter where you live.

By finding something good about any situation I find that I am a happier person. What situation are you facing that yoou need to find the good in?