So... let's try something new.

Thirty days of optimism!

Sure, why not.

I can do that. And really, nothing to lose, everything to gain.

I tend to avoid any kind of positive outlook, preferring to keep it real and avoid being a rah rah pollyanna, but I think there's a happy, so to speak, medium where one doesn't have to be grim all the time and can be realistic but positive.

And I've come to realize that that's the key to a lot of things.

Dan Asquino said two weeks ago, "life is a merciless reflection of your own attitude". I think he's essentially right about that and it's a lesson I have learned very late in life. Now comes the challenge to internalize it.  To some people, this comes easy. I am not one of them. I am naturally cynical.

But Summer is here, and while the livin' is not easy, per se, it is easier than at other times of the year.

I'm out exercising. I am eating better. I am making slow but steady progress at the house, crossing items off my to-do list. I am still bothered by the mental events of the Spring, but I can, at the moment, deal with it. I'm realistic. I know there may be some upcoming days when I crash and burn, and I know it's not going to take much at the moment to knock me off my axis. I get that. I know that going in. But I have nothing to lose. So why not? June 4th to July 4th. Time to be a little bit positive for a little while. Time to redirect the path through the woods in my head. Maybe. We'll see.