Don't let the blues get the better of you Here's a way of getting positive even in the worst of situation I am intimately acquainted with despair, depression and negativity. It is this reality that has given rise to my current work as a motivational speaker and writer - since I have had to actively learn how not to fall into the dark recess of despair. I have had to know how to fight the depression that threatens to snuff out my hope. I have had to overcome my natural tendency to see the world through a negative lens, a lens that makes everything seem bad and futile. Without my daily choice to be positive and my on-going commitment to personal transformation, I would be the perfect example of a negative loser. Being positive is a learned behaviour. Seeing the possibility in the moment is a conscious choice. And every time we actively choose positive, we train our minds and bodies accordingly. Those who have to work so darn hard at it, like me, get the chance to teach what they've learned, not only because we've been 'there and back', but because we come to teach what we most need to learn. But in spite of all the conscious choices and years of training, there are still those moments which seek to close us in, and off, and down, - so powerfully that choosing to be positive is dam near impossible. Watching those towers come down, observing world powers back-pedal on environmental quotas, and realising that even affluent neighbours cannot live without conflict, are moments when dark thoughts become easy companions. It's those moments that can be your downfall - there you stand, hope spilling onto African soil, and then it hits you - the world is full of greed, violence and conflict, and nothing you can do will change it! For those extreme moments I have a special technique, one which will help you counter the blues, especially 11 September blues. It's easy: all you have to do is say out loud 'let there be light' every time you feel overwhelmed, negative or depressed. Although this seems simplistic, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Firstly, this statements calls on powers beyond the human. It calls to a Divine power that, by virtue of its divinity, is our only hope of healing human conflict, fear and limited thinking. Saying this is enabling the Divine. Secondly, casting our eyes upward towards a Divine power helps us release the upset and fear that a wicked and hostile world awakens in us. It creates a clear space where positive possibility can be entertained. Calling upon the light of Divine knowledge empowers us to transform no-hope thoughts into possibility thoughts. No amount of human rationale can do this. Thirdly, when we say the words 'let there be light', we become the channel for the light we call upon, and the first place that gets lit is our own mind - and that is, after all, the elixir we're after. Whether you believe them or not, these words leave a positive impression on your psyche. Words are power. The simple statement 'let there be light' allows higher energies to revitalise our disappointed experience of life. So speak these words into every negative situation: 'Let there be light. Let there be light in my mind. Let there be light in my heart. Let there be light in my being. Let there be light in my suburb. Let there be light in this town. Let there be light in the summit. Let there be light in Africa. Let light fill world leaders' minds. Let Divine light fill the world. Dear God, let there be light!' © Catherine M Glennie