A farmer became discouraged with his farm, so he decided to sell it and move somewhere else.

He engaged a realtor to look the farm over in order to prepare a listing ad.  Before placing the ad in the paper, the realtor called and read the proposed ad to the farmer, saying, “See if this meets your approval.” The ad spoke of a good location, a well maintained house, sturdy barns, lush pastures, a beautiful pond, fertile soil, and a great view. The farmer listened carefully, and then said, “Read that to me again, slowly.” So the realtor read it to him again. Finally, the farmer said, “No, don’t print that ad, I’ve changed my mind. I’ve always wanted a place like that, so I’m not going to sell.” You see, how we look at things makes a world of difference in how we behave. Life is like that.

We must choose to be positive while living in a negative world. When things do not go according to our plan, we have two options. We either choose to become cynical and pessimistic or we choose to be optimistic by looking for the best in everyone and every situation.

One of the most difficult parts of correcting the habit of complaining is to admit that we have a problem. Often times our complaining is just an attempt to blame others for the problem. But, we must learn to take responsibility for our problems. Blaming others goes back to the beginning of man. Do you remember the fall of Adam and Eve? When asked why he had eaten the fruit, Adam conveniently shifted the blame on Eve for giving him the fruit. Later Adam blamed God for creating the woman.

Then Eve blamed the serpent for giving her the fruit. It is easy to pass the blame to others for our own mistakes. Be encouraged to take time this week to listen to our conversation. Let us ask ourselves, how much time we spend arguing, complaining, griping, and saying that things are only getting worse. Our community needs some good news. It needs us to bring a message of hope.  We can help change the community and the world if we choose to be positive in a negative world.