If you have this habit of ruminating over your sorrows and problems, you may constantly feel frustrated, anxious, depressed and apathetic. You’re so absorbed in what’s wrong, you’re unable to notice what’s right. 

Sound familiar? Guilty as charged, officer. 

As I saunter through my home on the way to finding my hidden stash of lollipops (code for anything I enjoy) I make mental notes of things amiss.  “When am I going to paint over those spots left two years ago by a nasty leak in the roof?”  “Where can I find a nine-foot man to come change the lights in my living room chandelier which has only four bulbs still burning.”  Yada Yada yada…suddenly I have no idea where I hid the lollipops.

Why don’t I notice the wonderful patina of the floors marked by dancing and living done over the almost 150 years this old farmhouse which has been home to six different generations. Why don’t I listen to the glorious hum of the heating system which magically keeps us cooler on the days when the weather man gets it all wrong. 

Lately I’ve been obsessing over all the things that I “need’ to make me happy  – another negative thought pattern. I’m pretty sure Incessant “wanting” is a barrier to any kind of real happiness.  

In the 21st century we are bombarded with advertising and subtle messages from our cultural conditioning, that we need more ‘stuff’ or a better life situation in order to be happy.  Maybe the better solution is to stop in our tracks and think about what is good in our lives. It is actually almost impossible to be both fully deeply present in the moment and also have negativity arising. Try it out as an experiment and find out for yourself whether this is true.

 We may wake up and find that life is good. However, the contentment is not riveting. So we scan the horizon of our day looking for something to worry about. Once we find an object of worry, it pierces our minds like a dagger. It becomes a source of focus throughout the day.