Today, I received my first negative comment on my blog--I pretty much knew this was coming since it seems anytime there is someone who is focusing on the good and positive in life, there is always someone who comes along and tries to rain on the parade with negativity. The comment was of course from an anonymous reader, and I want to address a few of the points Mr. or Ms. Anonymous made:
First, I realize I am idealistic, and perhaps even, at times, naive--and while if you can believe it or not, in the past ten years, I would say that I have found myself becoming a bit more cynical, I make a conscious effort daily to focus on the ideal and see as much as I can from a positive light. I hope when I'm 50, 60, or 70 years old, I'm still referred to as idealistic.
Second, I fully and completely know how lucky and blessed I am in this life. I work on a daily basis with teenagers who live in complete and utter chaos and often times unsafe and quite horrible situations. I respectfully don't need anyone else to tell me how lucky I am. I know and am grateful every single day for how blessed my life is.
Third, I must admit the comment about how different my life would be if I had children was one that stung just a bit since I've been trying to have a baby for over a year now and am having major fertility issues. (I have chosen not to write about it here, up until now, because I want this blog to be a place where I focus on the good and positive aspects of life.) With that being said, probably coming from the idealistic part of me...I haven't given up hope on creating a sweet little child some day soon! And yes, I realize my world will be completely and totally rocked when that happens, but I have no doubt when the little gal or guy arrives, I'll be even more grateful than I already am!
Truly, I realize life is hard, (like I said, I see it on a
daily basis with my students), and it's no accident that since I've had such a blessed life, I've chosen a career path in which I spend a great deal of my time trying to help others who are living with sometimes constant challenges...depression, drug abuse, abusive parents, poverty, violence...trust me--that can be a downer. I know I am quite sensitive and often absorb much of the negative stuff my kids are dealing with, so when I am at home and write, I make a conscious effort to switch gears and focus on all the good in life--because I KNOW it's there even more so than the bad.
I've even had a few minor bumps to overcome myself. I am not perfect, and I don't have a perfect life. I am loving, open, growing, grateful, idealistic, and learning and that is what I focus on here. In fact, I'm feeling a bit proud of myself, because in the past, perhaps a negative comment like this one would have made me feel awful and even consider not blogging. But instead, I decided to respond in what I hope comes across as a respectful manner and keep on focusing on the good--and I do have a major exciting change happening in my life right now which I plan to share soon!
So, here's your yogathought for the day:
Listen to critisicm and learn what you can from it. Then, purge it from your mind and focus on your strengths. For only postive and good energy serve you.
Namaste'
Yogadiva