A few days ago, I got to thinking about the content of my columns. I realized that it has been some time since I shared an inspirational poem with you. It seems to me that, in today’s times, there is so much negative news that it is easy to become discouraged, and that is not the way it should be.
As I have said many times over the years, I am convinced we each need a constant source of positive information and ideas that will inspire us, inform us, and motivate us to live closer to our potential as unique, one-of-a-kind human beings. To be sure, I am not talking about Pollyanna, but just simple down-to-earth truths that have some substance.
As you read my column each week, it is my hope and prayer that you are a happy person, one who has self-respect and one who has found that special place of service that brings you all kinds of good rewards, both tangible and intangible. The poem I want to share today was sent to me some time back by a reader in Montana. It is titled, “I know something good about you.” As you read this poem, I believe you will also conclude there is something special about the person who always has something good and positive to say about others.
This poem begins: “Wouldn’t this old world be better if the folks we meet would say ‘I know something good about you’ and treated us just that way? Wouldn’t it be fine and dandy if each handclasp fond and true carried with it this assurance, ‘I know something good about you’? Wouldn’t life be much happier, if the good that is in us all were the only things about us that folks bothered to recall? Wouldn’t life be much happier if we praised the good we see? For there is such a lot of goodness in the worst of you and me. Wouldn’t it be nice to practice that fine way of thinking, too, ‘you know something good about me, and I know something good about you?’”
Well, what do you think about this poem? To my way of thinking, it’s great. I know this for sure: it reminded me of some things that I need to start practicing. I especially like the part that says, “The good that is in us all.” That’s the key. Everyone has some good in them. We just need to see it. Because the news these days slants most things on the negative side, this is not usually the case. We pick out those negative things about another person and never forget them, while those good things are all too often forgotten. You know, it really comes back to our own attitude. This is the reason we need to strive for success in life. The most successful we become, the more good we will see in others.
To kind of sum up what I have been saying, I would like to leave you with a little poem that can be found in my new book “Your Future Begins Today.” The poem is titled, “Choose to Live in Joy” and was written by Charity M. Richey Bentley.
“Life goes by in the blink of an eye. It’s too short to live upset, angry, resentful, or ungrateful. If you look for the good you will find it. Choose to be happy, to be at peace. Decide that each day is going to be a great day and grab each moment and make the best of it. Refuse to let negative thoughts and situations drag you down. Trust your journey and know that if you make a mistake, it’s OK. See it as a lesson learned and keep moving forward. Spend less time worrying and more time being grateful for those who love you and all of life’s goodness. Choose to live in Joy.”
I am also grateful for my friend Floyd Brantley, who shared this with me.
—(Editor’s Note: For a personally signed copy of my new book ‘Your Future Begins Today’ send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)