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?

Why I Started This Blog

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances." 

- Martha Washington

It is my nature to look on the "bright side" of things, to give the benefit of the doubt, and to think the best of people. Unfortunately, sometime in 2010 I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, the symptoms of which include weight gain, fatigue and depression. Every couple of months I go and get blood-work done and my doctor tells me it is not under control yet (I could have told him that) and he increases the dosage of my medication. The end result is that I spent the majority of 2011 in a bad mood doing nothing. 

Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration. I work during the day as a computer tech/support person, I am a Pampered Chef consultant by night, I am married, I have 2 teenage children (one of each sex) and am active in both my community and my church. What I really mean is that I don't feel like I accomplished anything.

This is me!

I've read that people who journal tend to be happier people so I tried journaling but, knowing that I would not be accountable for what I wrote, I tended to complain or brood instead of writing why I was grateful.

By starting this blog I will accomplish three things.

1.     Knowing that others will read my blog, I will be on my best behavior, considering my words carefully and using them to build up rather than tear down.

2.     I will have a place to write down my thoughts, beliefs and the interesting thoughts of others in a location that I can access from anywhere.

3.     I will be able to look back at my life and see what I have accomplished and my “inspirational” words for those times when I am in the grip of despair.

Please help to keep me honest and feel free to gently call me out when I do not stay true to these core beliefs:

1.     It is far better to give than to receive.
One thing that you will receive from me is recipes. I love to cook but I love to find recipes even more so I will be posting my favorites right here.

2.     Anything worth doing is worth doing well and joyfully.
Before the hypothyroidism this one was not a problem for me but I hate the person I have become and I am going to change that by changing my disposition and hopefully my circumstances will eventually change back so that it is no longer a conscious effort.

3.     To Him be the glory
All that I am, all that I do, all that I’ll ever have, I owe to Jesus Christ, my savior.

Now, before you go running off! This is not going to be a {finger quotes} Christian {finger quotes} blog, but by the same token Christian is what I am so I am also not going to hide it. If this offends you then feel free to leave and never come back. You probably won’t hurt my feelings.

Everyone who stays… welcome to my blog.

All my thanks to seanbjack for the use of his flickr image