My daughter,
Hannah, loved Winnie the Pooh. I can’t tell you how many movies we have and I
can’t tell you how many times we watched those movies. And read the books. And
sang along to tapes (CDs weren’t invented then or if they were, we didn’t have
them).
Each character
was memorable and I think each of us had a favorite. Mine was Eeyore. He kept
losing his tail or it would fall off and sometimes when placed back on, it
would be crooked and off-center.
Eeyore had a
penchant for finding the gloom in almost every situation. A sunny blue sky- it
might rain. A walk in the woods- too many thorns and bugs. Statements usually
with a “Yes, but . . .” or an “I don’t know . . .” warning.
While Eeyore was
my favorite character, I had to admit he grew tiresome. I think that’s why the
writers only had him in bit parts and in snatches of action. Too much Eeyore
was, well, too much.
And then there
was Mary Mallon.
You probably
know her better as Typhoid Mary. She was a cook and the first person in the
United States identified as an asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen associated
with typhoid fever. Legend had it that she had infected 51 people, three of
whom died.
You might be
wondering what the connection is between Eeyore and Typhoid Mary.
It’s simple,
really. Both are/were carriers of gloom, of doom and both cause illness. Mostly
illness to the heart and head and sometimes to our physical and emotional
well-being.
I’m willing to
bet right now, this very moment, each of you can picture someone who is a doom
and gloom kind of person. Someone who sees the negative, the awful in any
situation. Someone who is a “Yes, but . . .” person. I’m also willing to bet
that when you are around this person, you can only take so much before he or
she wears you out, drains your energy, and you lose the sunny and positive
disposition you had.
And
unfortunately, this Eeyore, this Typhoid Mary moves from person to person
infecting him or her with this gloom, this doom until the positivity you and
they feel is . . . gone. And each person they “touch” becomes infected and the
tendency is to pass it on to the next, and to the next, and to the next . . .
I listened to a
brief presentation from a colleague who had attended a conference. He shared
with us some of the things he learned from it, some insights that caused him to
ponder.
One of the
things that struck him was the difference between the Awfulizer vs Awesomizer.
The Awfulizer
has nothing positive or constructive to share or offer. He or she shoots down
ideas and picks apart suggestions only offering what can or might go wrong
without offering an alternative. This person has no energy and one wonders if
the Awfulizer ever smiles, is ever happy.
The Awesomizer
is the opposite. The Awesomizer is positive, energetic and intuitive and who sees
the best in people and in situations. The Awesomizer actually looks for the
best in people and in situations. And like Typhoid Mary, the Awesomizer is
someone who can pass on his “disease.” Only in this case, the Awesomizer leaves
everyone feeling uplifted, in a better mood and feeling positive. The
Awesomizer leaves you with a smile, maybe a laugh.
We have a
choice, you and I. We can be like Eeyore and the Awfulizer or we can be like
the Awesomizer. In either case, we become like Typhoid Mary passing onto others
whatever is in our heart, whatever we are feeling. Think about that for a
moment . . . isn’t it better to fill someone’s cup with joy, with happiness and
with hope rather than doom and gloom and darkness? We have that choice- either for
ourselves or for others. As Yoda would say, “Choose wisely.” Something to think
about . . .
To My Readers:
My fifth work of
thriller/suspense fiction, Caught in a Web will be published by Black Rose Writing in April of 2018.
While I complete the necessary edits and wait, I am finishing up my sixth, Spiral Into Darkness. As always, I will
keep you posted on the progress of both.
Please feel free
to connect with me at:
Twitter
at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook
at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
If you like Thriller/Suspense fiction, check out my
novels:
Available on Amazon for .99 the Lives Trilogy
Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete
Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys
left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know
one another, the lives of FBI Agent Kelliher and two boys become interwoven
with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them
are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in jeopardy as
each search for a way out. http://bit.ly/Taking-Lives-JLewis
Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy:
Two
thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and
his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all
the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the
possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. http://bit.ly/Stolen-Lives-JLewis
Shattered Lives, Book Two of the Lives Trilogy:
Six desperate
and violent men escape. One of them stands in a kitchen facing a 14
year-old-boy with a gun. There are many reasons for the boy to pull the
trigger. Mainly, the man had started it all. http://bit.ly/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Splintered Lives, Book Three of the Lives Trilogy:
A 14 year-old-boy is willing to make the
ultimate sacrifice. High up on an Arizona mesa, he faces three desperate and
dangerous men in hopes of saving his father and his brothers. http://bit.ly/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis
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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe