A change of pace this morning, with some thoughts on attitude and outlook.

In waking each day, the first thing I do (other than curse my alarm), is look out the window to get a sense of the weather.  That moment can set a tone, intentionally or not, for what comes next in the day.

Sunrise can be a beautiful time of day.  All is peaceful, the sky transforms from the dark night, through a range of brightening color, culminating with the appearance of the Sun.  It can be like a reawakening of life, a fresh start, a moment to begin again.  Over the water, the Sun casts a sparkle that seems to ignite the wave tops, as if an infectious glow is bringing excitement into the world.  This energy only rises as the Sun breaks free of the horizon and begins its journey across the sky, welcomed by the tree tops, the birds with their song, and warming the day as if to envelop us all in a comfortable blanket.  As the day ends, again the Sun meets the ocean, and the sparkle reappears, as if to say, “we’ll see you again”, before the warmth and light passes from the sky.  It’s powerful, and it happens every single day, whether we see it in plain sight, or not.

And it seems to me, that our relationships with people can be much the same as this.  We have a choice in what we bring to the world, and also what we see.

In the somewhat famous “Last Lecture” by CMU’s Randy Pausch, he uses an analogy from Winnie the Pooh to ask whether we are a “Tigger” or an “Eeyore”, emphasizing that we have a choice in how we engage with others.  It’s a simple, but relatively helpful image to highlight the opportunity everyone has to bring a positive or negative attitude into our interactions.

Going back to the start of the day, our interactions with people can be much like that first look out the window.  We have the ability to set the tone in how we communicate, behave, and influence the world around us.  Something as simple as a smile, a laugh, a moment where we encourage ourselves and others not to take everything too seriously and be a little gentler, can make such a difference in where things go.  It’s a choice, and unfortunately one that can be lost amidst the noise and frustration that many of us experience through the twists and turns of our daily routines.

Alternatively, just as we create that ‘picture in the sky’, we also are the person looking out the window.  What we choose to see can be equally powerful and important.  It’s common sense that we cannot control the behaviors and actions of others.  The sky may not just be gray some days, it may be a thunderstorm or blizzard.  What we see in that is also important.  The fact is that the Sun rises every single day, even the days we can’t see it.  For those who have ever taken a flight on a cloudy or rainy day, there is a moment when the plane breaks through the clouds and suddenly the blue sky and Sun reappear.  The reality is that it was there all along, even though it couldn’t be seen from the ground.  It can be a beautiful moment if you take the time to notice and appreciate it.  So many of us only see the clouds and lose sight of the light that is always behind them.  For me, that represents hope and a reason to look past the difficult things, and know that tomorrow can be better.

So, with these thoughts in mind, I’d simply say that our choices shape our world, both in what we bring out from ourselves, and what we choose to see when we look around us.  There is always cause for hope.  Whether we see it at any given moment is really about our vantage point and our ability to see past the clouds.  We’d all love to live in a world of perpetually clear, blue skies, but it’s not the world we live in, and life needs the rain too.  For myself, I’m very fortunate to have both wonderful friends and family to help keep these things in perspective every now and again when I lose sight of them (albeit sometimes with a healthy smack upside the head).  My encouragement to others would be to reach out and look for that support in the moments you need it or to be that light for someone else.  There are so many good people in the world waiting to make a difference and, through their actions, through our potential, we can make the world a better place.

-CJG 01/12/2014