What's A Kerfuffle?
Some of you don’t know what kerfuffle means and I have been remiss in explaining it to you and why it is one of my “unique” words.
Several years back, I went to visit my brother and his family in Saskatchewan, and I was introduced to this delightfully polite and descriptive word. It was not long after the beginning of our involvement in Iraq and I heard someone describe it as the “kerfuffle in the Middle East.” People were saying it was a SNAFU, but kerfuffle is so much more “British” or rather Canadian, which is synonymous with “nice.”
So, when I owned the Douglas County News and my desk could best be described as “it seems there was a struggle,” I called my editorial, “from the kerfuffle that is my desk, these are the publisher’s notes.” It was my blog before blogs were much of a thing!
One of my recent blog posts was about the ups and downs of life, and life has continued to be down and up. It almost seems as though there are more downs than ups. Often, what keeps me going is the Optimist Creed.
Optimist Creed
Promise Yourself
To be SO STRONG that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the GREATER ACHIEVEMENTS of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance AT ALL TIMES and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have NO TIME to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
12-Step programs are successful because meditation and techniques in the program can repair the structural damage in the brain, in essence training the brain to think differently. That coupled with the essential desire to change, and sharing your experiences with others, success is more reliably attainable.
I’m grateful that I’ve not had that struggle. I know people who have struggled and lost and people who have lost and got up to struggle again. That to me is the definition of a winner.
People who are optimist and grateful, are also training their brains to think differently. Almost like being addicted to a substance, I believe that you can become so used to discouragement and despair that it acts like an addiction. (Medically and psychologically, I could be all wet – that’s my disclaimer.)
Enter, the Optimist Creed. It’s only 10 steps and meant to be worked on all at the same time. Each one of those promises you make to yourself will help with the spiral of defeat.
In Roseburg, where I am, there is the Roseburg Optimist Club, a part of Optimist International. Yes, it is a real club, a social service organization. Our motto is, “Bringing Out the Best in Kids.” (For more information, email roseburgoptimist@gmail.com or go to https://www.optimist.org to find a club near you.)
I say all of this because our lives, and specifically my life’s path, has been so unsure these days. I know what happens when I practice optimism and gratitude! When you start maintaining a gratitude journal and practice gratitude daily, you break the negative cycle that your mind gets caught up in. You raise your frequency and get attuned to the positive energies of the world. Therefore, by Law Of Attraction, you attract positive things that lead to happiness in your life. It’s the good side of karma, what goes around comes around, but more!
My fella gave me a journal nearly a year ago and I’ve done very little with it… I’m going to make another start! After all, I want to be a winner!
Win with me!
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