| Remember
the question: is the glass half empty or half full? In
other words, do we look at the glass optimistically or
pessimistically? Why does the weatherman say there is
a 20% chance of rain - why not an 80% chance of sunshine?
We hear of the percentage of wayward youth - why not the
percentage of wonderful youth?
One
of the most optimistic people I have ever known was my
grandmother, Barbara Phelps Allen. She gave birth to 12
children while she lived a rugged life on a dairy farm
in Gilbert, Arizona. Her children were born as she sat
on her husband's lap with the midwife assisting. In those
days, teeth were removed with a pair of pliers; water
was pumped from a well; clothes were boiled in large tin
tubs, rinsed in bluing water and hung on the barbed wire
fence to dry. Breakfast consisted of cracked wheat mush
cooked on the large wooden stove and served with milk
and sugar. Lunch was the big meal and often included potatoes
& gravy. Supper was always the same: bread & milk.
Their basic grains & milk diet was supplemented from
the fruit trees surrounding their house and the vegetable
garden she maintained.
Morning
and evening prayers were always said as family members
kneeled on their homemade, roughhewn chairs around the
big, round, heavy table. Grandpa spent his noon resting
and reading the Scriptures.
She
lost two young children; the remaining ten grew to be
strong, stalwart, well-educated men and women. All of
them were optimistic. Why? Their mother was never without
a smile and a song. Their home was filled with her homemade
music as she whistled and sang. She was a happy spirit
who spread joy around. To her, everyone and everything
was always "just grand." She reminded me of
the words from a children's song:
"When
you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay
Quickly turn it upside down and smile the frown away.
No one likes a frowny face, change it to a smile
Make the world a better place by smiling all the while."
At
the end of W.W.II, my husband and I were left without
a penny. Typical of my selfless grandparents, we were
invited to live with them until we were back on our feet.
During this six-month stay, a giant thunderstorm pelted
us one black night.  Grandpa
& Grandma Allen were trying to grow turkeys but did
not have the proper shelter for the birds. Instead of
grieving over their drowning chicks, Grandma put them
in her ample apron, carried them into the house, and put
them in the oven to dry. They did not recover and this
meant a substantial financial loss for them. But did she
stop singing? No, instead, she belted out. "Count
Your Many Blessings," louder & louder as she
trotted back & forth emptying her apron of the sopping,
dying fledglings.
During
W.W.I, songs such as "Smiles," and "Pack
Up Your Troubles," were the rage. During the depression
years, we liked, "Now's the Time to Fall in Love."
We needed to be lifted up and so we turned to optimistic
music.
 |
What
we are
going to be
we are now becoming |
 |
| A
baby is born. She looks so fresh, sweet and pure.
The years go by and the babe waxes old. A history
of her thoughts and character is written not only
in her soul, but on her face. Wonder of wonders!
What she has turned out to be she was preparing
to be - all of her life!
Do we
have any trouble telling what these ladies have
been thinking about most of their lives?
Which is the optimist and which is the pessimist?
If we were a make-up artist, and wanted to change
a younger person's face to look like either of these
two, what would we have to do? If we were a portrait
artist, and wanted to convey the optimist
vs. the pessimist, what would we have to
draw in order to portray this? Look in the mirror
when we are smiling. Look in the mirror when
we are frowning. Which expression do we want
to be etched on our countenances as we grow older?
Be
a good-will ambassador
Be a living, vibrant, happy advertisement
Learn to be cheerful & optimistic |
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