Free Your Mind So You Can See

 Dear Diary,

Today was a frustrating day. I was denied a grant, my package arrived damaged and an automatic payment I forgot overdrew my account.

I was ready to crash out when I looked at the bookshelf and saw a picture of my dad - Percy Leroy Thomas Jr. aka P.T.

Despite having a rough childhood, my father was one of the happiest people you would ever come in contact with. He was always laughing, always had a smile on his face and always had a kind word for everyone. People loved him! Nothing seemed to ruffle his feathers - even during the worst of times.

I was always curious about that, so I asked him, "How are you able to laugh and be happy when things are going bad?"

He smiled real big and said, "I always see the good in every situation."

"Always?"

"Always."

“Well…how do you do that?"

"I changed my mind set. Once I did that, I started seeing things differently - more clearly"

“How did you change your mindset?”

“I look for the good - the silver lining - and I focus on that.”

“What if there isn’t a silver lining?”

“There’s always a silver lining.”

I thought about what he said and decided I wanted that too. I mean, c'mon-who doesn't want to be happy? And this man was always happy.

My dad called it a silver lining. I decided to call it Rainbows and Butterflies.

My transformation didn't happen overnight and it definitely wasn’t easy. Some days the rainbows fade and the butterflies stay stuck in their cocoons – like today.

I need to get out of this funk.

C’mon, rainbows…appear!

Butterflies, where are you?

Now that I think about it, the rainbows and butterflies have been here all along.

These things tried my patience but they didn’t ruin my life.

The grant was denied, but I’ll work on my pitch.

The package was damaged, but the contents were intact.

My account is overdrawn but the bill is paid.

I didn’t understand it when I was younger but I understand it now:

Free your mind so you can see.

~ Penny aka P.T.’s Kid ~