Half Full or Empty?

Awhile back a friend got stuck listening to a woman complain for an entire swim lesson. She had no way to escape.

We have all met them, those people that never have anything positive to say. Those people that focus on all the wrong going on in their lives. We have even been that person sometimes, I know I have my moments. But we often come upon those people that are ALWAYS that way. People that seem as if they are not happy unless they have something to complain about. It can be a huge downer, but it started me thinking about the glass is half full theory. I like to try to always find the fullness in my glass (but of course have moments when I can't seem to see it). When faced with a perpetual complainer, is it possible to sit there and listen to someone complain about all the things going wrong in their lives and focus on all the things going right in our own?

On a similar note, I think I can see too much the half full glass. Are people like me annoying as well? I have another friend that had a valid complaint that she was tired of having a wrist in a splint. I said "well, at least it hasn't been amputated". She thanked me for putting it into perspective for her, but it still doesn't get her wrist out of a splint. :-)

We may be equally annoying but I am going to continue to focus on the positive aspects of life. Life has way too much to offer to focus on the things we don't like about it. God has blessed me in so many ways and these are the things I choose to focus on. Of course life is going to have its valleys (the bad) and mountains (the great), but don't the valleys make us appreciate the mountains all the more?

Happy New Year! May you always see the half full glass in front of you!