The Drive by

Several years ago, by the side of a road I drive by daily, on a stretch that is part open field, part electricity transformers, a house was slowly being built. I thought at the time, gee, that will be a sorry sight for the people building there, all they will have to look at is a side of the road and its incessant traffic on one side, and a group of tall alien looking electrical towers. As time went on, the house took shape and actually was a pretty structure, with a bright colour of paint on it. The first Christmas when the people moved in, they hung a large bunch of very pretty lights. In spring, a bunch of hanging baskets full of bright red flowers went up. In summer, a patio was added, and a deck,and more flowers were added, and trees, and a pretty wooden fence, that I am sure added a buffer to the drive by noise from all the cars, and privacy. Then I noticed a shed was being built, and a pretty awning with more lights and flowers that went over the front entrance went up before fall, and when Christmas came around again, more sparkling, bright lights were added all around the house and yard. I enjoyed watching the process of how this property and home was turning into this bright, vibrant place. I felt like a child that had been watching an invisible hand build this pretty large toy structure, it had been fun. It made me think of how by now the bare surroundings had disappeared, and the electrical towers seemed to fade in the background, it was really something. What had started out as a rather sad looking project, had turned into this beautiful home and backyard. It seemed a metaphor for life, how sometimes you just have to refuse to be intimidated by odds, and how if you just keep adding more positive elements to your attitude eventually the good will outweigh the bad. The people who bought that piece of land had a vision. Where others, including me, saw only a piece of waste land, they saw a place they would call home and would make their own with patience and time. Now it is one of the prettiest  houses on that road, and I always look forward to see what flowers and colours they are adding, and what fun lights they will add to their Christmas display. We all have bleak spots in our history and lives , but when I think of how sad and lonely that house initially looked, I thought that perhaps the way we structure those spots, the way we view them, display them in our own minds and to others, can make a difference. Perhaps the way we can add some beauty and colour there too is simply by our attitude. An attitude that chooses to see some lights and flowers from lessons learned, rather than just an expanse of bleak emptiness and loss. The best part about an approach like that is that not only are you doing yourself a favour, by prettying up your own mind, but you will have something positive to share with your friends and family : the beauty of a bright outlook on whatever life brings your way.