I love listening to TALK 702. I find the content interesting and topical and I enjoy the music. Not so long ago Kino hosted a show about the pros and cons of, among other things, the political landscape in this country and the 2010 World Cup. A man called in to share his views. He went on ad nauseum about the crime situation in our country and how it would adversely affect the world cup. After many attempts to get this man to see the glass half full Kino asked him if he saw any pros relating to the World Cup. The answer, “Yes there will be more people to hold up”.
This attitude makes me sad. I think it is so important to create a positive consciousness in South Africa. If everything is energy and thought is energy then we sure could use a lot of positive thought. I’m no ostrich and I don’t have my head in the sand – we face a lot of challenges – but if we step out with a negative attitude we’ve lost the battle before we’ve started it.
The Oxford dictionary defines “challenge” as a demanding task or situation, something which tests ones abilities. It defines “problem” as a thing that is difficult to achieve. “Challenge” comes with a whole host of positive connotations whereas “problem” makes you feel like you’re starting with the deck stacked against you. I don’t profess to have the solutions, and even if it turns out that the theory that positive thoughts don’t change a thing, at the very least we’ll all feel better each day if we put on a smile and find one great thing to think of. And maybe, just maybe if we do that often enough, we may feel less stressed when we’re in traffic, or in the grocery store queue, or at the licensing department, or my pet hate when the cold caller calls…