On Being Up...

  My sister informed me that she had learned, from chatting with someone she knew in Maine, of the passing of a mutual friend, Betty.  Sad news, of course, and the chance lost to see her, again.  Thinking about Betty and her husband, Phil, made me think of people like them who always seem to be "Up".  You know the type, it is always a pleasure to be around them because their unassuming and genuine happiness and love for life just radiates from them and permeates everyone around them.  My good friends Mary and Dick definitely qualify for the Up Persons Hall Of Fame.  They graciously opened their home to my family when we needed a place to stay and we instantly felt like a part of their family.  Another couple was Susan and Larry.  Larry would frequently say that he was going to 'pump you full of sunshine' when he thought you needed it.  I could go on mentioning others that I have crossed paths with that carried a positive outlook on life.  I often wish I could maintain a similar steadfast attitude.  Of course well-adjusted, optimistic people have their share of problems like anyone else.  Excuse me if I use the old reference, but when they are given lemons, they make lemonade.  It is as simple as that.  They know life is too short to, as my grandmother would put it, "go around with a sour puss".  Which is ironic, because my grandmother often needed to be 'pumped up'.  She was a wonderful person who didn't always have a positive outlook.  Life is what we make of it so we should set our mind to enjoying the ride!

The most positive person is the most credulous. - Alexander Pope