Trying to stay positive

And negative crazy talkers don't help much.  

This is how I define "crazy talker": someone you've only just met who rambles on and on in a disjointed fashion, using way too many details, including the first names of people you've never heard of, and who fails to see the look of dawning horror in your eyes that says, "Oh, shit.  I've got to get  away from this person or I might scream. Out loud."

I meet a lot of these people.  Perhaps I'm giving off a "I'm-a-good-listener" vibe.  I am, indeed, a good listener and I like people and I like to talk to people one-on-one.  

But I've recently decided that negativity, especially in my currently vulnerable (read: unemployed) state is bad for my health and my emotional well-being.

I'm trying not to read the comments on the online edition of our local newspaper, which are almost as bad as Youtube comments.  Which are very, very bad.

For awhile, I avoided my beloved Rachel Maddow's show;  during the health care debates, the toxicity of the discourse really got to me.  I've since gone back.  I can't stay away from Rachel.

Mostly, I'm trying to monitor any and all negative sentiment that I may feel, or say. 

And it's hard. Really hard. The meditation and obsessive exercise is helping a lot. Having a super-duper emotionally supportive spouse helps a lot.  Connecting online with friends and family helps a lot.

But it's still a daily struggle.  

And running into a crazy talker at my beloved Tai Chi class is not a good thing for me. I'll have to figure out a way to avoid her without appearing to avoid her.  

As facile as it sounds, my mantra has to be: "only happy thoughts."

Now, if I can just stop blogging negativity...

Comments

[angela]

It might be an introvert's curse?! It happens to me a lot too...sometimes in the grocery store--and I think there are a lot of lonely people with no one to vent to. Sad lot.

Oh dear, I haven't gone on too much have I? Just kidding.

[presbyfruit]

:)

Angela, yeah, I definitely think being an introvert has something to do with being cornered by lonely people.

And I neglected to say that everything this woman had to say was negative and complaining.

[naomi]

I'm sorry--that really sucks. And at your Tai Chi class? That's supposed to be your happy place!

[naomi]

An excellent good book recommendation is positive, right?
http://books.google.com/books?id=RqACseGJ_hEC&dq=the+island+at+the+center+of+the+world&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=UV7kSpvWMor44AbLsMiRAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAw
Hope it's not a few centuries before your main historical interests...

[presbyfruit]

Naomi, precisely!! my happy place needs only happy people, preferably on the quiet side.

thanks for the book recommendation! always welcome.

[presbyfruit]

Excellent recommendation! I wanted to read this.