Thinking green, singing joyfully 

A few years ago, a friend and fellow teacher attended a motivational workshop. Already a very optimistic and positive person, she left her session energized with the new term “green thought,” a term she continues to use on a regular basis.

Similar to the glass half-full metaphor, green thoughts are glimmers of hope, even in dire circumstances. We can all recognize the parallel to traffic symbols: red means stop; green means go. Red thoughts are dead-ended, negative, paralyzing feelings which prevent one from moving on in thought and in action. Green thoughts, on the other hand, are positive ideas – the “twists” in negative experiences – which allow us to keep our heads up as we travel along life’s road. 

I like the term “green thought” and use it frequently, myself; yet, there are times when even if I do recognize the “green” way of thinking, my stubbornness prevents me from embracing it. I feel so discouraged that I almost choose to sit in a sort of red-thought funk. Even though Psalm 100 exclaims, “Sing joyfully to the Lord,” red thoughts make it very difficult to feel joyful.

I recently spoke to someone dealing with a very difficult situation at work. As I listened to her describe her sadness and frustration, I offered words of empathy. These words showed love, but I knew that nothing I could say or do would change the situation.

At a loss for words and wanting to give her a green thought, I eventually asked, “What is something good that has happened in this?” Quite tersely, she responded, “Nothing.” I continued, “There must be something good: a kind word, something you’ve learned about yourself.” Again she insisted, “No, there’s nothing good in this at all.”

After an uncomfortable silence, the question came to me: “How has the staff been during all of this?” “Oh, the staff has been wonderful,” was her quick reply. “Well, there you have it,” I announced, “That’s the good.” She had to agree.

Even though the “good” felt small in comparison to the magnitude of the problem, we were both reminded that good is always there. Sometimes we need to look harder for it, but we must seek the good in order to hold ourselves together.

Occasionally, the routine of life, rainy weather, or fatigue can feel almost as joy-less as a crisis or tragedy. In these times, I need to remember my own advice!

As Ginny Kubitz Moyer writes, “even on a sloggy, draggy day, there are things I can do to alter my mood. I can pause, and think of three things that happened today that were good. They are usually small things: a great talk with a student; a darling toddler I saw holding his mom’s hand walking down the street; the cloudy and dramatic morning sky over the hills on my commute.”

She goes on to say, “I can challenge myself to find joy in the five senses: What is something I saw today that made me happy? (my kids’ faces). Something I tasted? (the coffee my husband made this morning). Something I heard? (birdsong in the trees). You get the idea.”

We can find joy in nature, people and experiences when we are open to God’s loving presence.  If we are still having trouble seeing the good, then God must be calling us to be the good.

When we notice something positive and share it aloud, we are finding joy. When we challenge ourselves to go out of our comfort zones to show love and respect, we are spreading goodness. When we ignore our own emotional or physical exhaustion to offer acts of service within our family, workplace or community, we are providing opportunities for others’ green thoughts.

In the words of Moyer, “They don’t take long, these little moments of pausing and being mindful and rewriting the script. They don’t always catapult me into what I would call joy, but they do get me a whole lot closer than I was before.”

I encourage everyone to join me in seeking green thoughts. When we choose to see and be the good, we will sing joyfully to the Lord at all times.