There is a story in circulation about an optimistic farmer who couldn’t wait to greet each new day with a resounding, “Good morning, God!” He lived near a woman whose morning greeting was more like, “Good God. Morning?” They were each a trial to the other. Where he saw opportunity, she saw problems. What brought him satisfaction, brought her discontentment.

One bright morning he exclaimed, “Look at the beautiful sky! Did you ever see such a glorious sunrise?”

“Yeah,” she countered. “It’ll probably get so hot the crops will scorch!”

During an afternoon shower, he commented, “Isn’t this wonderful? Mother Nature is giving the corn a drink today!”

“And if it doesn’t stop before too long,” came the sour reply,

“we’ll wish we’d taken out flood insurance on the crops!” And so it went.

Convinced that he could instil some awe and wonder in this hardened woman, he bought a remarkable dog. Not just any mutt, but the most expensive, highly trained and gifted dog he could find. The animal was exquisite! It could perform remarkable and impossible feats which, the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbour. So he invited her to watch his dog perform.

“Fetch!” He commanded, as he tossed a stick into a lake, where it bobbed up and down in the rippling water. The dog bounded after the stick, walked ON the water, and retrieved it.

“What do you think of that?” He asked, smiling.

“Hmmm,” she frowned. “Can’t swim, can he?”

I believe that attitudes are the world’s most communicative diseases. They can be as catching as any known virus. And when negative and cynical, they can be just as deadly. But a stubbornly positive attitude can often make the difference between happiness and misery, between health and illness and even between life and death. Once infected, you’ll never be the same.

Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances dictate.

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