Maybe it's because I have a seven year old son and I want him to grow up to be a good person. Maybe it's because Spring is currently being reborn on little bird feet in my backyard. Maybe it's because we are living in dark times and we need a little more light.
Whatever the reason, I am officially over the haters. Bitchiness is so 20th century.
(Garden in Kensington, 2008)
All those who criticize rather than encourage, who belittle instead of uplift, who gleefully pounce on other's weaknesses...please, can we have a reprieve? I find it soul-crushing and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
It's the tabloids, it's the shows, it's the media...all brought to you by people desperately in need of an attitude adjustment.
Listen to this quote I found from Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden", published in 1911:
"One of the new things people began to find out in the last century was that thoughts -- just mere thoughts -- are as powerful as electric batteries -- as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison. To let a bad thought get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ get into your body."
(London park, 2008)
I couldn't agree more. I'm not saying we need to go all "Pollyanna" or anything, but I think most of us could do with a little mental detoxification. I've said before that, to me, life is made up of a series of delicious moments strung together. Shouldn't we do our utmost to help create as many of those as we can in our time here?
(Hedge with gate, London, 2008)
These photos were taken by my husband the last time he was visiting England. (Sweet thing -- he knows how much I love my London greenery.) I posted them specifically so you could absorb them into your retinas and let peace and calm spread throughout your body. It works for me.
Have a glorious weekend, my dears.
23 comments:
Well said! There's far too much doom & gloom about and I for one refuse to give in to it. And as my mother used to say...if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family.
I want pastels and lots of shiny chrome. Perhaps we need more color to cheer us all up so that we exchange the smallest, yet most significant smiles to strangers and live with the thought that we made a difference.
Lee: So glad you agree.
PVE: Your words are poetry, my dear.
Lisa,
What a glorious posting....
mental detox...brilliant!
Your husband's lush, green
photos are lovely too!
Thank you!
Cheers! This reminds me of my 7/29/08 post: "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always try to do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great."
Tricia: I love that! Thank you for posting!
YAY! I love this positivity!! What a feel good post, you have good Karma Lisa! What goes around comes around! And I know sweet things will come to you after this sweet message you've put out there!
Thank you, thank you. It's the only way to live - I always quoted the Desiderata to my children as it made all the same points. Our time here is too short ...... my brother has great little bar and the sign says "Be nice or leave".
And LOVE the greenery
Mary: That's a great sign!
I could not agree more. Needless negativity is such a poisonous state, but for some it is, I suppose, the easiest state to be in.
Thank you so much for writing this today!! Even though our worlds are very far apart and you know me as much as I know tomorrow, I connect to this and your blog very much. I was introduced to you via Hab. Chic. Thank you again for a lovely post!
A much needed message; thank you!
I think the fact that my big sister is a aid worker (Doctors Without Borders) in Darfur helps me not lower myself to the negativity that surrounds me. I really just try to rise above it, as best I can. What she sees and deals with on a daily basis is never projected in the news. We are all so lucky and I find it hard to be around people who don't appreciate the little things in life.
Lovely photos, as always. xo
Amen, Lisa! Well said.
I just found your blog, thanks to Mr. Peacock, and am one of your newest fans! I'll be checking your blog daily!
-cheers!
Of course, I'm reading this on a grey, gloomy afternoon in San Francisco . . . lol.
but, ahhhhhh . . . it's just what I needed to see *and* feel.
London never fails to succeed when one needs to find amazing 'green spaces' and to refresh one's mood.
thanks for posting!
Thank you! I have been feeling this same way recently. I had a nasty anonymous girl post photos of my work on her blog and ridicule them along with many other people's work. I'm so tired of it. I was going to write a similar post but chickened out but maybe now I will. I always think...can't we all just get a long?! Why is is so hard for some people to be nice?!
Habitually Chic: 1. Anyone who would denigrate anything you write deserves our pity because they live in a shadowy world. No ultimate good can come from bad. 2. Keep spreading the light and the love, my adorable friend, because your acolytes are many and we all adore you! xx
I enjoy a bit of critique, but yeah, the mean spirited stuff... and with no sufficiently redeeming wit, usually...
Dave Hickey touched on all that a bit most insightfully in his column in, I think, the December or January issue of Art in America; discussing the phenomenon of tearing at cultural icons who represent a certain level of refinement (for lack of a better word at the moment) - I recommend looking it up (as I don't have my copies here at the officina).
Amen! Why waste our precious life moments on pettiness and awfulness and on and on and on? My husband and I are big believers in trying to spread positive thoughts, words, attitudes in even the smallest gestures. You never know what a stranger is going through or where they've been. We are all in this together, and you will NEVER fall behind by reaching out with love.
Hey, correction on the Art in America article: it's in the February issue along with a feature on Elizabeth Peyton... double recommended reading.
Jeffrey: Thanks for the info! I'll try and get the magazine today...
The way you play with words is pure therapy for my mind.
Post a Comment