Finding Your Good Fortune: The Absence of Negative Stuff

In the daily search for positive results in your life it's essential to see what may be hidden in plain sight, that you can find your fortune through a focus on what's not happening. Without winning the lottery, getting a much better job, marrying a millionaire or some other such stroke of amazing luck, finding your fortune simply involves looking in the mirror of your existence to observe what you don't regularly realize is indeed yours. The key is to do this repeatedly and religiously, so that you can discover how fortunate you are with every bit of bad news you hear about what happened to someone else, and in every potentially positive feeling you experience.

After surviving a near brush with death or very serious injury, haven't you subsequently felt elated? Perhaps a loved one has been in grave danger or hospitalized in critical condition, and then you learned this person would be just fine. Didn't that put you on cloud nine? Consider even less significant events, such as the flashing lights of a police car in your rear-view mirror being intended for someone else when you thought they were meant for you. Isn't that a relief?

Because for a certain length of time you experience the high probability that something bad is going to happen, and then it doesn't, you feel good. Maybe a situation occurs that brings you down, but soon you discover it's no big deal, so a weight lifts from your shoulders.

Well, that's the sort of experience you need to re-create as often as possible. This is not about rejoicing in the misfortune of others. Also it's not quite the same as being grateful for all that you have, which is a wonderful attitude to employ. Rather, finding your good fortune comes about by constantly recognizing the absence of negative events in your life at the present moment. It isn't as easy as it sounds. Once we move beyond our most recent close call or calamity the positive feelings disappear almost right away. If we can focus our mind upon the relative peace of the present moment we can feel better longer. This is a discussion of that endeavor. 

Health Can Be Fragile