One may choose to focus on the mundane melodramas of life and define and frame our entire existence by the negativity those scenarios produce. It’s easier to get lost in the tumult of everyday life than it is to get lost in a desert. At least in the desert one has the stars to lift our thoughts to a higher level.

Over time i’ve come to believe that a lot of folks seem to thrive on drama and set about creating it at every opportunity.

The stories we tell ourselves become the narrative that we use to explain who it is we believe ourselves to be. But in no way does an attitude of negativity become an asset to the spiritual journey of the soul. In fact playing into melodrama and creating it tethers the soul as sure as gravity keeps our mortal selves attached to the earth. The soul, the human spirit has a great desire to be uplifted, to fly upward and sing as the meadow lark sings sweeter the higher his wings carry him.

No life is ever lived with immunity to upheavals and challenges that can send us into a tail spin. But then we need to find ways in which to restore our spiritual, mental and emotional equilibrium as quickly as possible. This can happen only when we intentionally release and refocus our thought patterns.

I choose to do this by reciting bits of poetry I’ve committed to memory, singing favorite songs, going out under a wide open sky recreating in my mind lovely scenes I’ve beheld, and loosing myself in a good book with a happy ending. Most of all I practice gratitude. There is nothing more beneficial to the health of the soul than maintaining a constant state of gratitude.