The Positive Side of Things.

Persons and things in themselves are good and filled with light; but if you look at them through the filters of your discontent, they become repulsive or irritating to you. The problem is in you.

If you calm down your nerves and make your heart a welcoming haven, no exterior stimulus, however annoying, can ever irritate you. Let me tell you another thing: no reality can cause a sense of repulsion if you dedicate yourself to contemplate it positively. These hands may not appear beautiful to you, but have you ever had the thought about how many works they have accomplished? What would you be without these hands? Your eyes may not be that bright, but … where would you be without those eyes? You would find yourself in unmitigated darkness.  You may have rightly failed recently, but why not recall many other projects in life that proved to be total successes?

While others look up to you as a lucky man, you feel discontent because your sights are focused on the negative incidents of your life. That is not right.

Your friends have deceived you, your grandiose project crashed, business failed because of erroneous calculations: but in all of that … how many lessons have you learned! How much have such experiences freed you from interior compulsions and misguided thoughts of greatness! There is no misfortune or contradiction in this world which does not bear positive results: lessons for living.

So, here's your golden key to enter the realm of serenity: discovering the positive side of things.

Extracted from the book “The Art of Being Happy” by Father Ignacio Larrañaga