The Elegance of Positivity

An elegant person builds up those in their sphere of influence...doing no harm ever to another's mind, body, or spirit.  An elegant person has learned to be silent when there is nothing positive to be said.  They understand the power of words -- the power of the tongue.  Knowing that words can create, they are careful in choosing their words.  This carefulness models to others the elegance of positivity. 

 An elegant person continues the practice of deliberately stopping negative and critical thinking and negative and critical programming. One way to do this is the rubber band tool—wear it around the wrist and each time a negative or critical though is recognized, the band is popped and the arm experiences pain. Within a month, negative/critical thoughts will begin to disappear. In this way, mastery of self is gained, and that is another quality of elegance. We are told to take every thought captive into the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5). This is an active way of making an application of this particular counsel. 

An elegant person moves in the spirit of gratitude and happiness. These are not attributes that someone gives you. These are decisions you make. These are commitments you make. Someone has said that most people are about as happy as they decide to be. This is true.

Since most of us have spent too much of our lives waiting for someone or something to MAKE us happy, we need to reconsider our thinking. Happiness is not about that which is outside of us. It comes from deciding to be happy and grateful no matter what. Start each day with this commitment: I am happy and grateful to be in this day and for all the opportunities that God is bringing my way today. You might even give some thought to what kind of opportunities you would like to come into your life. For instance, say there is a challenge at work or in the family. Then your affirmation might go like this: I am happy and grateful for the answer coming to me about…

Living life deliberately changes everything. The elegance of positivity can become a covering, a protective sheltering place, through which God’s law of giving and receiving is more quickly played out in your life…give and it shall be given.

What keeps us from being positive? Fear, anger, grief, shame, blame, being critical…all of these emotions have such a low frequency. Why do we get stuck there? Sometimes it’s because we do not know who we are in Christ. Not understanding the truth about our relationship with Christ means that we are living under the shadow of lies about who we are and what we are supposed to be and do. Sometimes we are stuck in these negative patterns because we’ve been raised in that energy. Sometimes we just need to decide to change it all. Sometimes we need help. Sometimes the most positive thing we can do is to admit that we need help. There are all kinds of help available to those who know that they need help. When you are ready the answer will be there.

Living in the elegance of positivity is about trust. Sometimes when times are difficult, we move into survival mode. From that place, we are very alone. It is frightening. This is where the victim lives. How we respond to the trials that come our way is a mirror showing us what we really believe about God. Do we trust Him with every part of our lives? By this, I do not mean that we are to deny our feelings. Grief, anger, fear...these are a part of the human experience that have the potential of helping us move away from man-centered living to God-centered living. Do we really believe that God is taking care of us? Do we really believe that God has answers for us that do not fall into the realm of this physical experience that we are having here in Earth School?

The elegance of positivity is a spiritual discipline that will create miracles in our lives. There is a divine science to it all, and it is full of the blessings of God. God help us take our challenges and turn them into opportunities for learning something about ourselves and something more about God.