It Depends On Where You Look

"A cheerful heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones". - Proverbs 17:22

And lo, another Friday has come full circle once again.  What did this week hold for you?  Can you say that it was filled with adventure, conflict resolution, successful accomplishment of the tasks that lay before you, good friendships, new victories, budding relationships, the breaking of a bad habit, good fellowship or perhaps an unexpected delight?  Would you believe me if I told you that my week was filled with all of the above?  These things I  mentioned beforehand encompass each of us every day and all day and whether you experience them in your life depends on where you look.  We are are familiar with the old adage "If you look for trouble you will find it".  Well, what if we looked for joy or laughter or smiles?  Will we find them, as well?  I have learned that there is good to be found in every situation.  We will not always know what that good is at the moment or maybe not in our lifetime but nonetheless; there is good.  We can see it much better if we would allow ourselves to slow down and take a break from the stress that is ever before us.  (Or are you one of those people who believes that your organization cannot afford for you to take a "time out" from the craziness)?  Well, good luck with that.  Believing you can always find good doesn't necessarily involve a great amount of faith; but it does call for you to trust in yourself to overcome more than you my have been doing.  How can one see the good in being laid off from a job or the death of a loved one or an illness which comes upon them or someone dear to them?  How can we cause a smile to surface in times such as these when overnight a Tsunami has run through Japan in a manner only depicted in a motion picture movie.  Libya is at war with itself, gasoline prices are rising as we speak, school bus drivers are being attacked by angry parents, meth labs are becoming commonplace and this is but a tip of the news.  So where exactly do we look to find solace?  In which direction can we see hope?  I admit, it is not easy; darn near impossible, at times.  But hope is there.  Joy is a reality.  laughter is commonplace.  I know this because I found it today.  I found it when I went to the VA hospital on a errand.  It did not fall into my lap as some mysterious offering from above.  I had to consciously seek it out.  And there it was in abundance.  It was in the smiles and hugs and laughter of so many people I consider "friend".  There company, however brief, was as a healing balm that coated my very soul.  It was then that I was able to say that in spite of all that is wrong in the world there is much that is right with it.  And I do love my life even more.  Never underestimate the power of true friendship. 
Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Dennis