All the best lessons I've learned in life...

...I've learned from children. No joke. It's almost like, if we could keep all the understanding we have as a child and simply grow more independent and stronger and wiser as we get older, we'd be much better off.

When you spend some time on the internet, you learn a couple of things.

1. The internet is full of crazies. I mean, sure, you can dig and dig and dig and find a couple people who aren't absolutely insane... but for the most part, the internet is full of crazies. The ability to speak does not boast intelligence or sanity... and I'd like to think that goes the same for the ability to type and use the internet. XD

2. Some of the most insane people online are hard to notice at first, because they say they believe the same things you do... but ask them to define what they believe, and you'll find they don't agree with you at all. They see things completely differently.

One of the best examples of this that I can think of is something that's been apparent to me recently. I've been trying really hard to be a positive person as of late - it's so much easier to just be negative, but it's so much more fun to be positive, you know? Positivity is a big deal to me... it bothers me when people would rather focus on the bad than focus on the good. It gets under my skin. But what strikes me as odd is that a lot of people will claim that positivity is a big deal to them, too. Some people think positivity is ignoring your morals and trying to keep someone's spirits up. Some think it's reminding yourself that everyone breaks the law, so if someone you like does it, it's okay. Some think it's kicking people with a smile on your face. And some think it's more of an attitude... and it's flexible. Maybe it's all of these things, and maybe it's none of these things... but what I've learned today is... maybe it's more simple than that.

Positivity is seeing a hole in the roof of a barn and utilizing it as another entry way, instead of getting upset that there's a hole in the roof of the barn.

Are you lost yet? Probably. lol. Well, let me explain.

I worked in the preschool building today and, for whatever reason, I was in a "get down on the floor and play with the kids" mood. There are a number of moods you can be in while working with children, and not all of them are hands on, but that's how I was today. I played with a few of the kids and as more kids came in, we began to combine games until we had pretty much combined all the cars and Fisher Price connect-a-tiles and created a nice bussling little town.

Then, a tornado hit, and destroyed our barn and yellow brick road, and car garages and extra rooms and everything... so we all had to rebuild the town. We started with the barn. We rebuilt it and made it bigger and better than ever, giving it reinforced walls and two - count them TWO - doors. The only problem was, I ran out of connect-a-tiles for the walls, and had to use singular blocks. I was rebuilding in such a hurry that I didn't realize two of the tiles had big holes in them, until the barn was already built. I was mildly disappointed, because it was a cool looking barn, save for the holes on top. I was about to tear it apart when Konnor - one of the little boys - looked at me and got this really excited expression on his face. He pointed to the holes and said "THEY CAN GO IN UP HERE!" He then very ecstatically made his car fly to the top of the barn and dropped it in one of the holes. We both laughed, and one of the other kids mimicked Konnor's example. Before long, we were all laughing and dropping cars through the roof of the barn. After a while, Konnor decided it wasn't "realistic" that the cars were flying to the roof of the barn and falling in the holes... so we built a ramp so they could drive up and fall in. We had a blast, and majority of the children were playing with us. Everyone took turns driving their cars up the ramp and dropping them in one of the holes.

Now... they're children. It's not like they wouldn't have had fun if I had taken those tiles out and replaced them and made the barn look pretty... but how much MORE fun did we all have, simply because Konnor decided to be positive instead of negative??

I honestly think we should all strive to do this in our every day lives. Instead of looking at the holes in our roofs and frowning, why not find a way to use them to our advantage?? Not only will it make a difference in your day, but it will also affect the people around you. If you're in a good mood, it'll make them want to be in a good mood... and you never know who's going to need YOUR smile to help them through their day.

There are so many things that can ruin our day or week or month or whatever... but how many of those things wouldn't be able to affect us at all if we DIDN'T LET THEM?

So - that's my challenge for all of you this week... try to find the silver lining in your rain cloud at least once a day... try to view the hole in your roof as a door and, if need be, ask some friends for help... maybe all you need to see things differently are a few friends to build you a ramp. :)

Let's get this!

~Lauren