While I've never heard anyone say "think negatively", it does seem a bit curious that we rarely look at the duality of thought. It may be even safe to say that most people aren't even aware of duality--in any area of life.
Duality, one way of stating that everything has a polar opposite, is part of the Universal make-up of things. Everything has its seemingly opposite side. By seemingly, I mean that it is our own perceptions that make it so. We cannot have an up without a down, a black without a white, a here without a there, and so on.
With everything being connected, and part of the same "thing", however, all of these "opposites" are really just perceptions of the same thing. One of the reasons for this might be that we have created boundaries through the socializing that takes place as we mature (as both individuals and societies)--programming from our parents, teachers and the environment.
We could spend countless hours discussing the manners in which this takes place; but, I think it is sufficient to say that we this happens, and that it definitely affects our perceptions. And while each of us are unique, in our own special way, there are certain perceptions that we all commonly share. And, in these areas, we have learned to apply "right" and "wrong"--or--"good" and "bad".
Now, the perceptions that we share, and the perceptions that are our individual perceptions, are both tied in with how we see the world and what is happening. I do not necessarily see things in exactly the same way as you--just as you do not see things in exactly the same way as me. Through the filters in our brains, mostly unconscious, we see things in the manner in which we have been "programmed" to see them.
After an event of any kind, ask ten people who were there what happened and you will get ten different versions of the same event. There may be some similarities, yet, the story of the event will vary based upon each person's perception.
Why does any of this matter and what does it have to do with duality or positive thinking? Well, it matters because all things just "are". They have no meaning except for the meaning that we assign (or give) to them. Nothing in the Universe has meaning. We give it meaning. So, we are the ones who determine "good", "bad", "black", "white", "right", "wrong", etc.
For example: Suppose that you have been looking forward to having the weekend off. You have planned an outdoor family get together, perhaps a cookout. Now, the weekend comes, and, BAM!!--it rains during your cookout. Bad, right? Not a good outcome for your cookout.
However, if you are the farmer whose crops need the rain to grow, your perspective is completely different. You have been waiting for that rain to come. You need it so that your crops can grow and you can earn money to provide for yourself and your family.
And, what about the person dying from thirst? How would that person view the rain?
I'm sure that you can agree that this is a simplistic explanation of this concept. We all know that these things make sense. Yet, how many times have things happened to us, and we then worked ourselves up into a really bad mood? It's almost a natural reaction.
One of the main points of this "lesson" is that we oftentimes need to look at things from a different perspective, a different angle--in order to appreciate this duality and realize that it is neither good nor bad. It just is.
My dad used to tell me, when we were playing chess, that he sometimes look at the chess board from above--things look different when you're looking down at them from above. I think that it was sound advice for chess playing, and, I also think that it's sound advice for life.
When things don't seem to "go your way", look at it from another angle, another perspective; and see if you can find the lemonade in the lemons.
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