Blooming thoughts

Since life is fleeting, its important where you put your focus. I've learned that life reflects your mindset. Spring is in full force and I hear so many people sneezing, complaining about allergies, etc. Where I live, pollen rules. In fact, the area I live in is considered the allergy capital of the world. I've been victim to the sneezing, etc. I noticed my car was covered in the dusty pollen. Instead of fretting over this, I've decide to change my focus. I looked up from my car to see my azalea bushes blooming in beautiful pink and white flowers. Instead of sneezing, I was in awe. I felt grateful for the magnificent floral display. Conversely, I work with a woman who sees life on the dark side. She cannot see the flowers because the pollen would have consumed her. It doesn't matter what the subject is, she only sees the dark implications from it. As a result, she is sick quite often. She suffers from depression more often than not and is generally unhappy. She tends to have way more bad luck than I do. I don't believe any of this is coincidence. I used to be like that. When I walked on the dark side, I suffered more illness than I care to relate. When I say dark side, I don't mean the love of scary movies or spooky stories. I mean the love of seeing every glass as half empty. The love of listening and telling all the negative gossip you can find. When you put yourself into a negative mindset, you tend to set yourself up for a fall. The negative coworker just found out that she has an ulcer. When you suffer chronic illnesses, many times its your body giving you a wake up call. Even Edgar Allen Poe, who used the dark recesses of his mind, suffered from depression and persistent health issues. Is it possible to create such dark creative prose without a dark mindset? I think so. If you do your best to find the laughter and lightness of life, it fuels the creative juices. I've enjoyed writing dark humor over the years. At the same time, I love the lighter side of creativity too. There's no denying that a dark mind can produce intense dark literature. However, if a writer wants to channel that part of himself, it would do him good to shake it off after he's completed his work. Go to the theater, watch a comedy or just take a walk in a beautiful garden. Your body, mind and soul will greatly appreciate it.