Survive? Not enough...THRIVE!

Talking about our (human) tendency toward the negative rather than the positive - Soke Dave McNeill and fellow martial artist (and human being extraordinaire) Hayes McDonald commented (on Facebook) in response to my "It Ain't Easy Being... Positive...":

Dave McNeill Being and staying positive is the hardest thing to do because we (the human species) gravitate towards the negative as a strategy for survival.

Hayes McDonald I always love the illustration of our ancestors on the plains of Africa hearing the grass rustling. Assuming it is just the wind would certainly be more positive way to look at it (and true most of the time) than assuming that it was predator ready to eat you. It is just that one time when it is the predator that is the problem and lets the pessimist avoid being lunch.

WOW - major moment of enlightenment!

I knew this... but somehow I had forgotten that
(for me)
part of the difficulty, part of the reason I think that I personally have to work at being positive - why it isn't a "natural state" for me and why I struggle with it sometimes even after YEARS of active awareness and practice, is my fear of being willing to try to thrive instead of just survive.

I'm really good at surviving... just check my track record.
And I can tell you from experience that you don't need a positive attitude to survive, mostly you just need to be "prepared for the worst" - just as mentioned above - and stay alive / continue to exist.

Thriving is more than that though ...
Thriving has Positivity woven all through it without replacing common sense.

 Let's be real.  Just being real happy and positive and talking about and nourishing all the great things growing in your garden, without taking the time to pull the weeds and deal with weather and insects and wildlife that affect your garden too... will leave you with very little to harvest.

I hope to have evolved beyond being satisfied with mere survival - I want to continue and improve on my ability THRIVE!
Isn't the name of this blog "Growing Towards..."?

So how about this...
Thriving is more than Surviving in a way that is inclusive rather than instead of.
Maybe it can be summed up as the concept of being aware of the worst, while hoping for and working toward the best!

Respectfully,
Kathy Wiz