Well, Look At That

That was my thought when I got out of bed and hit the bathroom this morning. Now, I'm not a vain person by nature; I can be called many things (ego maniac, sore loser, stubborn beyond belief, ect) but vain is not one of them. Yet, this morning, I woke up, looked in the mirror, and I was actually kinda happy with my appearance.

Granted, I had just gotten bed and yeah, I wasn't looking great by any stretch of the imagination, but for the first time...ever, I guess...I noticed how much thinner I was than I remembered. Yesterday I spent some time looking through my old high school yearbook and, surprise, I look better now than I ever did in high school (I'll take a poll one of these days and see if others agree with me-I think they will). The high school yearbook pictures I was in were not flattering in the least, I had forgotten how unflattering (or plain horrible) those pictures looked.

I thought about those during the night some and probably while I was asleep, and you know it allowed me to appreciate the changes that have come to me in the nearly six months I've been at this lifestyle change. I'm noticeably thinner, even to myself now, and I feel good mentally, physically, and emotionally, better than I have in years.

I'm pleased about that. Now, that's not to say I'm completely glossed over my many flaws, but I think it's important that we as human beings take the time to appreciate the good aspects of ourselves and the world around us. For me, I looked in the mirror this morning and started off the day pleased. I'm not saying everyone has to look in a literal mirror, but do look in a figurative one.

The world we live in likes to emphasis the mistakes, the flaws, and the negative things we do or are. They like to play those things up and we do too; we're sinful creatures but we're also creatures who feel guilt when we screw up or when we're reminded of our past screw ups, or even our flaws. We're not perfect by any means and we're not close.

That's not to say we shouldn't try to be better, we should, but we shouldn't focus so much on the negative things in life; they're way more negative things in life than positive ones and that's because we human beings make it that way; it's our corrupt nature that does the damage.

But I'm an optimist and an idealist. I'm a hopeless romantic too, so I am three dying breeds rolled into one. I like to focus on the positive and emphasize that because, in my opinion, the positive far outweighs the negative. The negative may outnumber the positive but the positive has far more quality to it than the negative, which is why I tend to lean towards the positive in any argument. I'm not an undying optimist; I'm more a glass two-thirds of the way full guy than a glass all the way full guy.

Bottom line is that I think we all need to focus on the positive aspects of ourselves and the world around us more. It's way too easy to drown in all the negative.

So, tomorrow morning, when you wake up, take a few minutes to reflect and find something positive to start the day out on. It can be about yourself, the world, another person, your breakfast, whatever. Just take a moment to say to yourself "Well, look at that," and make sure to say it with a smile.

Or if your teeth are like mine, a grin. :)