The Optimist’s Creed
Christian D. Larson

Promise yourself …
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.
To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

‎Our natural state of being is joy. It takes so much energy to think negative thoughts, to speak negative words, and to feel miserable. The easy path is good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.
Take the easy path …
Daily Teachings / Rhonda Byrne

Parker and cutie pie Lauren. Perry and Grandpa in background!

Amy - my smiley blonde!

Have you ever noticed how much sweeter life seems since diagnosis or the end of chemo? Not to say that my life actually got better after finding out I had cancer, I just mean that life FELT better. You know?

Our family just celebrated two big milestones – my daughter graduated from high school and my youngest son graduated from middle school.  When my oldest graduated from high school a few years ago, I was grouchy and overwhelmed.  From the announcement to the graduation party – I wanted everything to be PERFECT!  I stressed over little, unimportant things and probably sucked a lot of the joy out of the occasion for my family.  I was happy at the actual event, but felt so worn out I could barely enjoy what was happening.  Ugh.

Before my diagnosis, some of life’s simple pleasures had lost their meaning  …  like, vacations (been there done that) dinners out (whoopdeedoo) a new SUV (yawn)  It’s as if nothing could fill me up  … not a new couch, or a new Coach, nada–zip-zilch –- it all felt the same.

So, I began to pray for GRATITUDE.  I wanted to feel giddy again.  I wanted to appreciate the amazing things and wonderful people in my life.  I wanted to be excited about my child’s graduation for goodness sakes!  And wham, GRATITUDE is what I got …

Never in a million years did I think God would answer my prayer for gratitude with a cancer diagnosis.  But that He did.  From the moment I heard the words “you have cancer” my life changed for the better.  The mommy in me pulled my family in close and the friend in me reached out to “my girls” for help.  Did my life actually get better?  No. Did my life feel better?  Yes.

People give me a puzzled look when I say cancer was a gift. So, now I just say … from cancer I received the gift of gratitude.

PS:  Already planning the party for my oldest’s college graduation (2012) … can’t wait!

A great quote on attitude by Pastor Chuck Swindoll.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company..a church..a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past..we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you..we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

AMEN – I couldn’t agree more!