There is always another way of looking at something

As a therapist, my goal is to give my clients hope for a better tomorrow. Life can be so nasty, dingy, and full of unpredictable changes around every corner. I challenge myself every day to try to find the positive and good in every situation. Today I learned a wonderful example of this from my three year-old daughter.

As we were leaving the house, she stopped by the side of the car and folded her hands together and placed them by her face. She closed her eyes and began speaking ever so silently. I was perplexed by this behavior as I have never witnessed her do such a thing. I asked her what she was doing and she said, “I was thanking God for making those pretty flowers.” I looked down to beside her and noticed small yellow flowers blooming in a cluster of weeds in our yard. I smiled at her and acknowledged that they were indeed pretty yellow flowers.

I had noticed that cluster of weeds the previous day and was upset that we had worked so hard to keep weeds out of our yard, and here they were growing again. But my daughter did not notice the weeds. She has not been taught that weeds are not desirable. Instead she saw “pretty flowers.” Flowers that she thought were so beautiful, she needed to be thankful for them.

If we can be taught to see the bad side of things, we can also be taught to see the good side of things. When you are facing a bad day, anger is creeping up inside, and you feel like life is just not fair, I challenge you this week to look past the cluster of weeds and try to find the “pretty flowers” in your life.

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