Turning Poo Positive

I originally wrote this on December 3, 2009 ------------ I walked by my white tile bathroom this morning, surprised and delighted by how clean it looked. It hasn't looked this bright in a long time. Then I remembered that my son had pooed all over the floor last night, but look at what a positive this turned out to be if I look at it this way: --Before it happened, my son was happily eating at the dinner table. He stopped eating on his own (rare for him), stood up, gave me a meaningful look, and I took him to the bathroom. He was actually taking cues from his body ahead of time and trying to communicate with me. He didn't quite make it to the toilet but this awareness is a huge step. --Because I had to get down on my hands and knees and clean the floor and the whole toilet, I got to see a sparkling clean area this morning. Turning your mind around like this takes practice and fuel. You need to practice this every time you have a critical or negative thought. If you hear yourself thinking or saying something defeatist, STOP and restate it in a positive way. Don't say anything unkind to yourself that you wouldn't say to your own sweet daughter. The fuel comes from gratitude, fun, and joy. Brent Top said, "A grateful heart increases spiritual strength." Practice gratitude. Every day write down five things you are grateful for. Recognize the many little gifts God gives us every day. Throughout the day my mind is awash in grateful thoughts. My emotional "bucket" has been full recently, because I've been exercising, taking care of the house, and working on a creative and uplifting project. I have something interesting to think about while I'm taking care of my house and family, and something to look forward to for when I'm not. I'm full of the Spirit while doing this project because it is helping to bring happiness to another person, and that infuses life and light into everything else I do, even cleaning poop off the floor.