Captain Hook – June 2017

A recent study noted that if you do one physical activity (such as taking a walk), you are more likely to execute additional positive actions that are good for your health throughout the day.

My guess is that this same reaction occurs for “thinking” activities. If we consider our blessings and dwell on good memories, wouldn’t we be more likely to keep up that cheery train of thought?

So I wonder if the converse is true; that is, when we focus on negative thoughts and unhappy memories, are we more likely to keep dredging up additional negativity?

Anecdotally, at least, I can tell you it’s true for me.

The other evening I was robbed of a good night’s sleep at a noisy hotel. I let the incident color the next morning with irritation. Finally, in a stern conversation, I admonished myself to just get over whatever self-righteous indignation I thought I deserved to hold.

I was reminded of the power of positive thinking and positive living at the dog park today.

For the second time, I caught up with an adorable 18-month old pup who has THE best attitude.

You can see in the photo at the top of this post that she’s bursting with joy at just being alive and at the dog park. Captain Hook doesn’t seem to notice she arrived in this world with a birth defect.

Oh sure, she can’t move as fast as the other dogs. And sometimes the bigger dogs accidentally knock her over as they push their way through a crowd.

But her owner shared with me that Captain does everything that a dog with four normal legs can do. She plays, runs, sits, and even digs in the dirt.

The next time I find myself feeling cranky over some minor issue, I’m going to call up my vision of Captain running around the park on three legs, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth, looking for all the world as though she’s smiling.

And there is not one ounce of self-righteous indignation about her.