I capped off Labor Day weekend with a shocking request for my husband to take me four-wheeling through the woods in Robbinston. It’s something he never dared think I would join him in. But frankly, I felt like living dangerously for a change. I didn’t regret it!
We bounced on overgrown logging roads and eventually made it to some back roads running through a forest destroyed by wild fires a little over two years ago. The new underbrush was already thick, green and lush. Trees that looked dead and gone from a distance had sprung new leaves and were beginning to thrive. It was so hopeful to see so much new life in such a short amount of time. I was buoyed by the resiliency of nature.
And, then we turned a corner and gazed on another view. From this angle, you saw nothing but black, barren trunks of trees silhouetted against the clear blue sky. It was tough to see anything but devastation and I immediately felt hope, resiliency and the upbeat attitude leave me. It was impossible to focus on the new, green growth hugging these skeletons.
The juxtaposition of these two images was the proverbial glass half full or half empty. Whether we see something as positive or negative depends solely on our point of view. One gives us energy and moves us forward; the other drains us and causes us to retreat.
So too with money. If we focus only on problems, we want to throw up our hands in despair or hide our heads in shame; neither of which solve anything. But, if we look for the positive side of things, even if it’s just the vision of things to come, we can use the energy of hope and dreams to propel us forward to make things happen.
Another lesson from The County – gotta love it!
