I came across this passage in the book: Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, written by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It really makes you think…

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit  - Helen Keller

“It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job”, Harry Truman observed, “and it’s a depression when you lose your own”. As downturns in the economy disturb more and more households, we begin to question seriously the financial yardstick by which we have been measuring our personal net worth and therefore our happiness.

Perhaps the recession has personally affected you and yours. It’s hard to believe there’s anybody that it hasn’t touched, at least indirectly. Millions of women are scaling down their expectations of what constitutes the good life, redefining their values, reordering their priorities, and accepting the challenge of making a virtue out of necessity. But it’s very easy to surrender to an emotional depression when a financial one occurs. It’s easy to be pessimistic about tomorrow when today seems so bleak.

It’s time we put thoughts of lack behind us. It’s time for us to discover the secrets of the stars, to sail to an uncharted land, to open up a new heaven where our spirits can soar. But first we’ll have to make changes. And lasting change does not happen overnight. Lasting change happens in infinitesimal increments: a day, an hour, a minute, a heartbeat at a time. And the change I’m encouraging you to make with me is fundamental. Take a deep breath. We’re going to learn to become optimists.

Now be reassured. Optimism, like the happiness habit, can be learned. Start today with a little experiment. Smile at everyone you meet. Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday. Realize the past no longer holds you captive. It can only continue to hurt you if you hold on to it. Let the past go. A simply abundant world awaits.