Action speaks louder

Sometimes it seems the cosmos are trying to tell me something. The morning of an eye exam, one of the NYT crossword answers will be "glass eye." (True! But everything turned out OK.) Or I'll notice a large spot of bird crap on the car window looks like a blue heron, and then I'll round a corner in a Lenexa park and be surprised by a heron standing in the water while other trail walkers go chattering on. (Don't they see it? Or is it a heron just for me? Spooky!)
This week, soon after I'd read Newsweek writer Julie Baird and author Barbara Ehrenreich questioning whether the whole positive attitude industry is ruining America, I found another item in my new favorite web site, GOOD, headlined "Political activism is good for your head." (Read it here)
This post came about as the result of another study by psychologists that found that engaging in some kind of political activism made people happier and more fulfilled. Here's more.
If you read any of Ehrenreich's other books (Nickel and Dimed, This land is their Land) you'll know she has often sought fairer treatment of the poor and working classes. And--I haven't read the newest book yet--it appears she does the same in her critique of the "positive thinking" industry. If you're always concentrating on your shortcomings for complaining about your life, chances are you'll never take any action to do something about it.
I find myself agreeing more and more with the "take action" approach. Not that I haven't enjoyed the laughing yoga and brain waves tapes (mmmm. Brain waves). They are enjoyable in the short term. But so far I'm learning that anything with a lasting affect on my sour mood usually involves some kind of action. It's a choice: I can sit around, wondering what new fresh hell will come from my way and what I ever did to deserve it. Or I can go on the offense. No question which feels better.
There was one caveat in the new psychological study, though. It seems extreme activism--say the kind that gets you arrested--did not make the subjects feel happier. So no dripping deer heads, please.

Thanks
That said, I still may try some positive attitude self help because--I don't know--because I just can't help it. So I'll try to get some reason to be thankful in here on a semi-regular basis. I can't promise every day. And I can't promise they will all be serious.

Today I'm thankful that the final proofreading on Mike & Roxie's Vegetable Paradise is almost done and the book will be released in only a couple of weeks. You're all invited to come see us at the Lenexa Chili Challenge (Oct. 17). We may have some copies there. In the meantime, here's the cover: