POSITIVITY: a flaw or a virtue?

In my opinion, positivity is fundamental if you wish to achieve lasting success and happiness in life, but before I delve a bit deeper into this matter, I would like to quickly refresh what positivity means. 

Scholars define positivity as being the capability of looking for solutions, in an optimistic manner, and at the same time being able to focus on making things better while having a positive mind frame. It sounds quite easy, isn’t it?! Yes, it appears to be, but for whatever reason, for many, it seems to be pretty difficult to achieve such a state of mind.
Well, I guess that perhaps not everyone really understands what an optimistic way of thinking is, but, regardless, the subject is really worth pondering upon.

Over time, it has been well documented by many research papers that people with a positive attitude tend to live a more prosperous life, being at the same time more hopeful and enthusiastic. Because positivity is closely linked with confidence, for positive people it would be somehow easier to know what they want and have a pretty clear understanding of how to get that, facts which might lead to a number of significant life changing experiences.

Without any doubt, the power of positive thinking is remarkable in many ways. Positivity is the greatest gift you could offer yourself, which might have an encouraging ripple effect on you and on all around you. A happy, worry-free state of mind, which is always looking at the bright side of life while is focusing on finding viable and ethical solutions, often leads to positive results and successful outcomes.

Aside of that, it has been noted in many circumstances that positive thinking helps tremendously with the improvement of stress management, consequently affecting for good your health and well-being. For more clarity, here are few additional attributes which equate with positivity, with a positive attitude, or with a positive state of mind: optimistic, hopeful, confident, cheerful and bright. A person with a positive mind set could encourage and motivate other people and help them feel good about themselves. In fact, positivity is really a choice, which allows you to be more productive with your work (whatever that might be), properly setting goals and achieving them; being able to accomplish things on a regular basis is enhancing even more your positivity.

Approaching life with a positive attitude is in essence the practice of focusing on the good side in any given situation, which means that one tackles the good & the bad in life with the expectation that in the end things will go well. If positivity is correctly applied in life it turns to be a prised virtue, similar to patience & kindness.

On the other hand, I would like to briefly ring a bell about toxic positivity, which in essence boils down to denial and minimization. Usually such people have the tendency to exaggerate their happiness and optimism across all cases, leading to situations which pre-empt the authenticity of human emotional experience/s.
We all know that life is not always offering only positive experiences and rejecting anything which might trigger negativity could lead to more complications.

For instance, false positivity refers to a test result which tells you a disease or a particular condition is present, when in reality there is no disease. A false positive result is an error, which means the result is not giving the correct information.

Aside of that, forced positivity refers to the concept that sick people need to insistently portray themselves as positive, believing that this will alleviate the problem.
Whatever situation life presents, it is very important to have a clear understanding of what is going on, and act upon accordingly.

Also, dear ones, healthy positivity doesn’t mean ignoring a given problem; it means acknowledging without dwelling in it & looking for positive viable solutions.

In closing of my short expose here, I wold like to quickly emphasize that positivity, correctly applied, helps you cope more easily  with a large array of daily life situations, as it brings optimism into your life and makes it easier to avoid worries and negative thinking.
If you adopt positivism as a way of being, it could bring significant constructive changes into your life, making you happier, brighter and more successful!

Positivity starts by seeing the world with an optimistic, but realistic, vision.

March 19, 2020: SPRING has arrived!

Warm greetings to all on the first day of spring!

Yet again, nature is blooming fragrantly, igniting colorful freshness while bringing along the excitement of endless possibilities…enjoy!

“Spring Waltz” (by Frédéric Chopin) – audio

● A previous post on the same theme: SPRING Equinox – 2019

Alice’s Book Club – WINTER session of 2020

Special edition – live session with author Luminita Aldea

This Friday (March 13’20) I was glad to be able to proceed with the winter session of my book club, having with us the author Luminița Aldea as special guest.

Before I continue with my usual event related briefing, I would like to quickly address a current matter: in response to the present global health situation, for our gathering on March 13, 2020, I carefully reviewed all the updates given by the local 

municipality (Fraser Health Authority, BC Centre for Disease Control) for this specific day, as well as the federal Government (Public Health Agency of Canada), and concluded that our gathering for that very evening was in compliance with their recommendations. In addition, I took additional measures (and before the arrival of my invitees, I personally cleaned with alcohol all surfaces and provided all my guests that evening with sanitized hand towels) to help ensure that all participants experience a safe and healthy environment. Aside of that, for that very gathering, we all refrained from hugging or shaking hands, and the frugal snacks brought for the occasion were each separately wrapped.
We all understand that this is a difficult time and taking extra measures (by wiping down the surfaces we get in touch with & encourage anyone who is not feeling 100% well to stay home) is something everyone would benefit from.

We all stay strong and trust that in time this will pass.

Without any doubt, it was a session very different from our usual gatherings, but nonetheless, very special in every way! 

At this meeting we discussed the book "Shifting Sands" & few fragments from the book called "Acasa" ("Home").

Our special guest, brought along a charming positivism, a warm approach, and all blended in nicely and easily, as discussions unfolded.

Portrait: Luminița Aldea 

(As featured by "Suceava News"): Luminiţa Aldea was born in Mălini, but lives in Cornu Luncii, because "I like to live modestly, close to nature, among the trees, flowers and grass and I do not want changes that will wander me from my path", as she confesses.

The writer's debut novel is "Shifting Sands", published in 2005. Then, Luminiţa Aldea wrote the book called "Home", a grandiose project in which "she reveals what the holy notion of <home> means to me and my people", the author shows.

In the novel "Home", Luminiţa Aldea said that she paid her sacred duty to the ancestors, "but I also wrote my will as a toiling of the written letters." "Home" is a captivating book, in which the reader discovers the world of the orphan children, the universe of children raised by the state, in foster homes, where loneliness is also a friend and a foe, an angel and a demon. "Home" was a resounding success. Appeared in a limited edition, it made people from Suceava to sign up on waiting lists, at the Library of Bukovina, so they could borrow the book.

The third novel, an allegory, "How sweet are the bitter fruits", was published in 2014, as a result of "Culture unites Bucovina" campaign.
In the comments section, I’m publishing the links of several interviews author Luminita Aldea had been given over time.

Further, here is a brief synopsis of “Shifting Sands” novel, as circulated by “Goodreads”:
“Essentially a love story that proves love can survive against all odds - even against a tide of adversity which would cause normal humans to give up. This is an emotionally charged story, set at the time which started with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and Adriana never gives up on finding her first and true love.”

On the other hand, if you wish to order any books author Luminita Aldea wrote, please contact her directly via this email address: aldea_luminita@yahoo.com

Via modern theology, our special guest was able to join us straight from Romania, and in order to be with us for our scheduled 6 pm (PST) meeting, the author had to wake up at 4 am (EET), so we could have a live conversation. Needless to say that the entire audience found her gesture really special!

Then the dialogue with the author launched, and each participant was taking turns in showing thankfulness for the occasion, sharing the impact materials in discussion left on each of them, asking questions and carefully listening to the answers received.

For your information, here I will share only few, rough, concepts (picked from both sides):
- How do you organize yourself and prepare for “writing”? │ When you begin writing, first allow your thoughts to clarify and then put all on paper.

- What is inspiration? │At times inspiration feels like insanity; it feels that you are in such a creative trance, hard for ones around to understand you.

- How do you manage to keep the reader interested in the story, as all the books our guest wrote are extremely captivating? │ All is based on ‘understanding’ …being capable to put yourself in reader’s shoes, and at the same time always being willing to self-improve.

- Where do you find inspiration? │Generally speaking, life situations give us so many opportunities…you just need to keep your eyes open, and at times, listening to music could also help.  
….and the evening nicely continued, while many questions / comments went on, and on, and on….all was good, rich in emotions, and truly fitting….laughing, talking, asking, sharing lead to genuine heart openings, with many sparks of light in the air….and time just simply flew by….

Now, very briefly speaking about music, few names of very well-known fragments of inspiration were given, and below I will list them, as some of us, from the audience, have exactly the same preferences:
-  “We are free now”  (the soundtrack/theme song from the "Gladiator” film), which I simply love it since 2012, when the movie first came into existence!!!

- “The Empire of Angels” (by Thomas Bergersen) 

- “King of the North” (epic Celtic music, by BrunuhVille)

Also, talking about life (from general to specific and the other way around), talking about the main characters from the books in discussion (and not only), comparing life-styles, discussing chances and opportunities, brought us all to an important concept: DESTINY, and here are few fundamental thoughts to ponder upon:
- What is destiny?
- How do you shape it? Can you truly shape it?
- Is really our history our destiny?

- Is our destiny written for us, or by us?
- Often the steps we take to avoid destiny lead us straight to it.
- Is destiny something we wait for or in fact we work for?

Many people believe that destiny is not necessarily a matter of chance, but rather a matter of all the choices we make.

The time we spent together flew by very fast, and as we waved “Good bye!” to our special guest, we all agreed that it would be lovely to visit again, as there are still a lot of important concepts left to discuss. 

We concluded the evening in good spirits, considering that kindness, positivism & good deeds are very important aspects of life, we all need to continue to focus on. 

Dear friends, as these days it feels the world is slowing down and stepping back, I wish you all find strength, listen to good music, study, research and reflect. Continue to offer heart-to-heart smiles, while allowing yourself and your loved ones time to respite, rest and restore.
Alice 

Mesaj primit înspre publicare din partea autoarei Luminița Aldea

Stimată doamnă, Alice,

A fost o onoare și o încântare să particip la întâlnirea cu dumneavoastră și cu invitații dumneavoastră la serata culturală pe care o organizați cu atâta drag. M-am simțit ca între cei mai dragi prieteni, de parcă nu erau între noi oceane, continente și țări. Ochii noștri, cuvintele noastre erau atât de pline de emoție încât eram tentată să întind mâinile și să fiu îmbrățișată.

Mulțumesc tuturor celor ce au participat, mulțumesc tuturor celor ce mi-au împărtășit impresii despre scrisul meu. Înainte de a-mi transmite asta cu cuvintele lor, citeam în ochii invitaților tot ceea ce voiau să-mi transmită și mărturisesc sincer că în ochi era mai mult decât au putut spune cuvintele.

A ținut prea puțin... A fost prea frumos... Am rămas cu un regret și trebuie să vi-l mărturisesc cu riscul că o să vă supărați pe mine, doamnă Alice! Nu a fost destul! Ca să fie destul, la cât drag am simțit față de mine și de scrisul meu, aș fi vrut să mă strângeți tare în brațe toți ca să fie perfect!

Toate cele bune și vă mulțumesc că m-ați invitat la unul din cele mai frumoase evenimente din viața mea!

Luminița Aldea

Choices, Chances, Changes…you must make a CHOICE to take a CHANCE or your life will never CHANGE.