Episode 117 - Look for the Good

No matter how bad or wrong things may seem, it's important for our own well-being to look for the good -- to look for Go(o)d everywhere. Whatever we see or experience in another person or circumstance, we can also find good if we want to. We can also expect good to manifest in our lives. When we do, it will find us, and we will be happier, more effective people. Looking for the good doesn't mean that we ignore the bad, or spiritually bypass into a false or blind optimism. Instead, we can learn to see what is there, widen our perspective, and find our way to a sense of grounded appreciation or optimism. In this episode we share our stories of looking for the good and/or being stuck in seeing what is wrong and finding our way through.

NOTES

Where we put our attention matters!

Human beings seemed wired to see what is missing, wrong, bad or in need of fixing

It's not a bad trait – it helps us improve

But focusing on what right can also get us down

There's a lot that seems wrong in the world right now

For our own well being, look for the good

Look for Go(o)d everywhere 

Looking for the Good is a deliberate action we can take – an act of will

No matter what we see or experience in another person or circumstance, we can find good if we want to

Even when our lives are crumbling or the world is far out of line with our vision and hope for it, we can look for good.

Avoid Spiritual Bypass! Looking for the good doesn't mean we ignore the bad

Blind optimism glosses over reality, avoids pain and creates an inauthentic, surface positivity

It is important that we see what is actually going on, then find your way to a sense of grounded appreciation or optimism.

We can look for the good:

In ourselves

Other people

Places

Any darkness or despair

The past

The future

Expect Good:

When we expect good, it will find us.

Good has a peculiar way of finding those who seek it

The more good we expect, the more we receive.

We are always being called higher

NOTE: During my dialogue with Jim, I reference the YouTube interview with Anneke Lucas, survivor of ritualistic child trafficking in Belgium in the 1970's. If interested, this is the link to the first part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX11JUxxtq4

Dialogue and Inquiry

•Do you believe that good is always available?

•Where are you regarding looking for the good versus seeing the bad in your life today?

•Share a time when you shifted your perspective from seeing what was wrong to seeing what was good. How did you make the shift? What happened?

•Share a story of when you expected good and it found you.

•How do you feel when you are around someone who only sees what is wrong/bad? What do you do or say? Can you see this in yourself?

•What or who is simply not good to you today? Do you judge anything as irrevocably bad? Can you find any good there?  •

Can you discern the difference between surface positivity (i.e. spiritual bypass) and grounded appreciation? How can you tell if you are in spiritual bypass?

Closing Thought

I consciously seek good in my life and it finds me. I expect good in my life and it finds me. No matter what is going on my the world, Good is there and I actively choose to see it .