Find Good in Everything

Many tend to see a half-filled glass as half empty rather than half full. When looking at a situation, the popular tendency is to think about the bad side rather than the good.

There is an instructive story regarding the character in literature known as Robinson Crusoe. He was stranded on a desert island and had to find a way to survive.

While he was on the island he made two lists. One list he called “evil” and one he called “good.” He thought over his situation and he entered what was happening to him into one of the two columns. This is what he wrote:

“I am stranded on the desert island, which is bad. But I am still alive, which is good. The rest of the people on the ship died, but I survived.”

Next, he wrote, “I am all alone, which is bad. But I am not starving, which is good.”

As he thought further about his situation he wrote, “I have no clothes, which is bad. But, on the other hand, it is so hot here that I do not need clothes, so that is good.”

Then he wrote, “I have no weapons to defend myself against animals, which is bad. But there are no wild animals along this beach here, so that is good.”

Finally he wrote, “I have no one to talk to, which is bad. But the ship is near the shore and I can get things from the ship for my basic needs, which is good.”

After going over his list, Robinson Crusoe decided that there was no situation so terrible that humans could not find a reason to have gratitude to God. There was a silver lining in everything.

This attitude is a healthy one and saves a lot of time being anxious, worried, depressed, and disheartened. This time can be used instead to remember God, by staying focused on our spiritual goal. Every time we complain and fret over our situation, we are wasting valuable time.

Two people may go to the same party. One may spend time finding fault with all the people there, complaining about the food, and feeling upset that his or her expectations were not met. Another person may find enjoyment being with the other people and selecting food from the buffet that he or she enjoys. Both are in the same environment. One is finding what is wrong and the other is looking for what is good and joyous. When they both leave the party one will say he or she had a terrible time, and the other will say he or she had a great time. Which one will feel more uplifted and buoyant at the end of the party?

Similarly, each day we face many situations.  We can choose to focus on the bad and spend the rest of our time complaining and being disappointed, or we can choose to focus on what is good and take joy and pleasure from it.

We can develop spiritually by keeping our attention on being positive and occupying our time with spiritual thoughts. If we choose to occupy ourselves with negative thoughts that rattle around our head, we will waste valuable time that could be spent on remembering God.

Find some good in everything. Even when faced with challenges, we can think of the bright side and make the best use of our precious human life.