Day 135 of Thanksgiving...

135/230

Today I am so very Thankful for Pollyanna!  Taken from the name of the child heroine created by Eleanor Porter (1868–1920), American writer or World English Dictionary states that Pollyanna is a person who is constantly or excessively optimistic.   Full disclosure, I read about Pollyanna in my Guidepost reading today and it brought to mind how many times over the years that I have been accused of being Pollyannaish - with good reason.  I am learning that this is not necessarily a bad thing.  Now I can be just as negative on the other end of the scale as well but the extreme positivity has angered more friends and family in the long run.  I was mulling this over and realized that we all want to be positive and exuberant at times but due to circumstances it is not always within us all the time.  This is especially true during hard or painful times.  As a child I would wear my Pollyanna hat to keep peace and harmony in our little household - sometimes it worked, others not so much.  For years I tamped down the instinct to be optimistic and joyful because it seemed to make others uncomfortable.  Now I realize that it is not the joy and optimism that causes such a reaction but the feeling it may give off to others that they are doing something wrong in not being as joyful at that moment.  As I get older, I have come to the realization that I just have to be me and do my best to see the joy and goodness around me and appreciate it.  Everyone may not get it and I may aggravate some, but that's okay too.