I woke up one morning to a pile of rocks our landscaper had discarded alongside our driveway. Within minutes I set down my coffee and began to build a little wall to hold up my newly purchased garden ornament. A great sense of satisfaction came over me. I imagined the joy grandpa Glorio must have experienced as a lifelong mason and landscaper. I was happy to find a place for unused stones and fit them together like a puzzle. While creative solutions have always given me a charge, I particularly like turning life’s lemons into lemonade.

I’ve been accused of living in La-La Land (which is actually a pretty nice place to live) and a level of optimism that borders on delusional. To reframe what feels negative as positive sustains me. To regard a gloomy day as an opportunity to read or a traffic jam as an invitation to slow down is like flicking a switch. My mind naturally embraces more positive thoughts while my body – every cell – lightens and lifts. Even my posture improves with the slightest shift in perspective.

While walking in the rain yesterday I came across a field of wildflowers. “Weeds or wildflowers,” I asked myself and then realized we answer this question every day. I was reminded of the endless opportunities we have to choose joy. When things don’t go our way, we can sit in frustration or seek inspiration. We can argue with reality or live in the flow. We can train ourselves to reframe and rejoice. We can see weeds or wildflowers. What will it be?

A few years back in Italy while I photographed doves my cousin informed me, “Those are pigeons.” With hand on hip I sassily announced, “They’re doves to me!”

 

 


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