A Day Above Ground

I was getting my haircut and I asked the stylist how her day was going. She heaved a heavy sigh and said it’s getting better. She then went on to tell me about one of her clients that is so very negative and unhappy that it is getting hard for her to have her as a client. The moment this client arrives everything in the salon changes. People become agitated, angry, short with each other and just unpleasant. The client’s attitude spreads like a pool of murky, black sludge bringing down the entire place. We then had a great discussion about attitude and choices, on top of getting a wonderful haircut!

SOOOOOO many people play the victim never daring to realize that they are not the victim of their circumstances, they are the victim of their own thoughts and attitude. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has trouble, strife, disappointment and problems in their lives. And I do mean everyone! What separates the positive people from the grumblers is how they choose to handle and think about their circumstances. It is our own perspective and way of thinking about things that imprisons us and holds the people in life hostage to our emotional quagmires.

At times we all need to vent, complain, get mad and even blow up. It’s human, it’s natural, its even healthy and cathartic. The thing we need to realize is there is a time and place for that, and not everyone wants to hear about your turmoils and strife. Keep your negativity to yourself, get it out and get over it. Complaining and being negative is not a status symbol, it is a poison that infects and retards people from wanting to be with us. Eventually people stop wanting to be around and find other things to do. The sad part is being negative prevents us from being open to hearing their voices of concern about our mental state, it simply becomes another thing to complain about.

So I gave my stylist a big hug, told her how much I appreciated her skills and hoped her day got better. I reminded her that no matter what happens today, a day above ground is a good day!